Welcome to the Preparatory School Year 3 Booklet - 2021
Welcome to the Preparatory School Dear Pupils, We are really looking forward to welcoming you in September at our Preparatory School. You will embark on an exciting new journey and make many new friends along the way. This booklet will help you to understand life at Habs Prep, outlining what to expect and what you will need in your first few days at school. Your new teacher, who you will have already met, will look after you with care and will ensure that your transition to the Prep School is as seamless as possible. The Prep School will offer you a place of exploration and of wonderful opportunities in the classroom, on the sports field, on stage, in forest school and in the more than 50 clubs taking place during the day, each week. We want you to flourish. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to speak to your Form Teacher, House Leader or any other member staff, who will be delighted to help. We are looking forward to meeting you again soon! Warm wishes,
Mr Matteo Rossetti
Head of Preparatory School
Who you will meet
Mrs Bruce-Green
Mr Bowley
Mrs Adat
Mr Barnett
Mrs Pullen
Mrs Sanghrajka
Andrews House Leader
Georges House Leader
Senior Teacher
Patricks House Leader
Head of PE and Games Davids House Leader
Phase Leader Years 3 and 4
Your Form Teacher will teach you most of the subjects in Year 3, but you will be taught some subjects by specialist teachers, such as Ms Gozzard for Music, Mr Barnett for Games, Miss Brandon for Swimming and Mrs Valente for DT.
First Day On your first day, you will arrive at the Prep Hall and wait with your parents. Your Year 6 buddy will come to meet you before your class teacher takes you up to your new classroom. After finding your labelled desk and putting bags and coats in the cloakroom, there will be a range of activities throughout the day that will help you to get to know your new classmates. You will not need to bring your PE or Games kit on the first day, but please bring your school bag and a spare pair of trainers to keep in the cloakroom for playtime. Remember to bring a snack for break time. We would like it if you brought something healthier like fruit or a nut-free, seed-free cereal bar. At the end of the day we will help you to find your parents, who will be very excited to hear about how your day went!
Going Home Your parents may decide to pick you up on the first couple of days of School, but if you are then going to travel by coach we have measures in place to help you. For the first couple of weeks, a member of staff will walk you and other new coach travellers down to the coach park to make sure you get on the right coach. You will begin to recognise your coach bay and, when you feel confident, you will walk down with the rest of the Preparatory School. There will always be a member of staff to help you. You will go home via one of these three ways: • By car from the Astroturf at 4pm • On the School Coach at 4.15pm • From After School Care
The School Day You arrive should arrive at School no earlier than 8am. You will have 30 minutes to play in the playground before you go up to class to register. We have whole School assemblies on Wednesdays and Fridays.
8am – 8.30am 8.30am – 9.15am 9.15am – 10.00am 10am – 10.45am 10.45am – 11.05am 11.05am – 11.50am 11.50am – 1pm 1pm – 1.45pm 1.45pm – 2.25pm 2.25pm – 2.35pm 2.35pm – 3.15pm 3.15pm – 4pm 4pm
Playground Supervision Registration/Assembly Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Break Lesson 3 Lunch Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Break Lesson 6 Lesson 7 School ends
Before and After School Care Before and After School Care is shared across both the Boys’ and Girls’ School, with the Breakfast Club being hosted and co-ordinated by the Girls’ Junior School and the After School Care Provision by the Boys’ Prep School.
Lunch The Prep School pupils have lunch in the Senior School dining room called The Bates.There is a wide selection of hot food, including vegetarian options, as well as sandwiches and baguettes. Choosing your lunch can seem a bit daunting at first, but you’ll soon get to know what you like. Your teachers will help you to choose your food, go through the till system, find the cutlery and show you where to sit. When you have finished you will be guided to the emptying tray area and shown how to get back to the Prep School playground. The lunch menus are on the School website and Parent Portal so that you can discuss your choices with your parents. Your teacher will also display the menu in the classroom. If you decide to bring a packed lunch from home, you will still have the chance to sit with your friends.
Uniform We know that it will be really exciting wearing a new uniform. But what do the different uniforms look like?
School uniform
* trousers or shorts
Games kit
PE kit
House t-shirt
There are four House colours: • Andrews Blue • Davids Yellow • Georges Red • Patricks Green
Equipment List Please bring the following pieces of equipment on the first day. Most items can be kept in a pencil case - please label them. Apart from the plastic wallet, the equipment will be kept in your tray.
1. 4 x HB pencils (have spare ones at home) 2. Black pen for outlines e.g. a Berol pen 3. Green pen for marking response 4. 30cm long ruler 5. 15cm short ruler 6. Eraser 7. Sharpener 8. Coloured pencils 9. Dictionary and Thesaurus 10. Pritt stick (clear, not coloured) 11. Scissors 12. Felt tipped pens 13. Buttoned plastic wallet for homework
Finding your way around You might have already been around the Prep School with your Year 6 buddy, so you may recognise most of it on your first day. Remember, you won’t be the only new pupil and so there will be plenty of people here to help you. Although the site seems very large, you will be mainly based in the Prep building. Most of your lessons will take place in your own classroom and when you do need to move to another part of the School, e.g. for swimming or music, a teacher will guide you.
Homework Diary On your first day you will be given a small yellow book which you will need to keep in your blazer pocket. This book is for writing in any messages that your teacher gives you, as well as homework tasks and your going home arrangements. Your parents can also write messages for your teacher on the special notes pages of the book. Make sure that you ask your parents to sign your book every day and your teacher will then check it at School.
Homework You will not be given homework for the first couple of weeks as you will find your day quite long and tiring. There is lots of information to take in so when the teachers feel you are ready, you will be given homework. There will also be reading to practise and spellings to learn. When you do your homework, please ask your parents to sign it and write how long it took.
Clubs There will be lots of clubs for you to join in the first term at Habs and your teachers will help you to find activities that suit you. We will provide you with a list during the first couple of weeks and let you know how to sign up for each club. During the first couple of weeks you will be given a co-curricular booklet with all the clubs in and a chance to sign up. Just remember, a little bit of free time is good too! Examples of clubs are:
• • • • • • •
Football Rugby Tennis Cricket Woodland play Politics Club Fencing
• Explorers Club • Board Games • Thinking Skills • Animation • Wellbeing • Dance
What to do if you feel unwell The first person to speak to if you feel unwell is your Form Teacher. If you feel unwell or hurt yourself at playtime, staff on duty will help you. If an adult feels you need to see the School Nurse, they will send you over to them, either with your buddy or another Prep pupil.
What to do if you feel upset There may be times when you feel anxious or upset. We completely understand that starting a new school can be worrying for some pupils. There are lots of people you can talk to such as your Form Teacher, House Leader, the adults on playground duty or your buddy. Find someone you feel comfortable talking to and they will reassure you.
Houses and Sections All pupils are divided into four Houses before they start school and the colour of your school tie will show others what House you are in.
Andrews
Davids
Georges
Patricks
Each House has two Captains and two Prefects in Year 6 and each House has a member of staff as House Leader. Every year, on the important dates of the four Patron Saints (our Houses), special events are held for the chosen charities. House points are awarded for very good work and/or effort in the academic and creative subjects as well as the Inter-House activities such as rugby, football and cricket, and creative activities such as an art, drama or writing competitions.
You really will want to help your House be awarded the House Trophy!
Our Values This is the Habs roundel that sets out the values and all of the things we expect from the pupils at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School.