Newsletter Autumn Edition - December 2022
Carol Concert Parsons Green Prep
Art
Out and About
In The Classroom
Events
HEAD’S MESSAGE
FROM THE HEAD It is a privilege to lead this exceptional school and I thank the PGP school community for their very warm welcome. Getting to know the children, seeing their enthusiasm for learning and their achievements have been the stand-out highlights this term. The staff are justifiably very proud of the children’s progress and I thank them for their commitment and hard work in going the extra mile for every child. It has been an exciting and very busy start to the academic year, with the children’s well-being and academic profile at the centre. I wish you a very happy New Year. Dr Edmonds
SCHOOL COUNCIL Recommendations presented have included eco -friendly initiatives, well-being projects, fundraising, a continued focus on clubs that reflect the children’s evolving interests and even shorter break times to allow more time for learning! The introduction of our new kitchen and lunch service has been a resounding success and the school looks forward to implementing more of the children’s recommendations for improvement.
HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL
FRIENDS OF PARSONS GREEN PREP We started the year with Movie Night, which the children love. Recently our amazing events team organised a festive cocktail party for the parents and staff to kick off the holiday season. FOPGP’s elves have been working hard to arrange the school’s Christmas celebration day. The FOPGP Uniform team has also run two secondhand uniform sales. Next term: Quiz Night and the disco. Mrs Heather Goertzen Parsons Green Prep
Our Head Boy and Head Girl were selected from a very strong field of outstanding Year 6 pupils who were all eager to take on their leadership roles this year. At Open Days and school events they have impressed their audiences with their thoughtful speeches and self-assured, articulate presentations. Both have been exceptional role models and ambassadors for the school, reflecting PGP’s core values of kindness and respect. We are so proud of them.
HOUSE CUP RESULTS Congratulations to Earhart with 2,830 house points. Attenborough came second with 2,705, Williams third with 2,631 and Shackleton fourth with 2,181. Well done everyone.
THE ARTS
BALLET Miss Alice had the pleasure of teaching ballet to some of the Reception and Years 1 and 2 girls this term. The environment is always very uplifting so that everyone feels supported by their peers. The children worked on establishing the fundamental positions of the ballet technique and the steps covered in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. Seeing their fast progression has allowed Miss Alice to push them even further by introducing more complex steps for their age. She was amazed to see their positive and enthusiastic attitude to learning. The girls have all worked very hard.
ART We have had a busy time this autumn, starting the term with Art Day, when every class produced work around a single painting, Men of the Docks by George Bellows. An array of amazing work was created including horse brasses, clay relief buildings and soundscapes on acetate. In the art room we have studied many artists and their work. Pupils have had a range of experiences, learning new techniques using different mediums including collage, paint, clay, pastels and mosaics.
MUSIC This term has been busy in Reception with preparations for their very successful Nativity. Year 1 have started their theory journey as Year 2 have been enjoying toy box music. In Year 3 we have taken to the musical waves with Scheherazade and started looking at the piano. Year 4 have worked on intervals and composition while Year 5 have met the semi-quaver rest. Year 6 have completed Theory Book 3 and studied the voice as an instrument. Well done everyone. Parsons Green Prep
OUT AND ABOUT
PIZZA EXPRESS Panda Class are now qualified pizza makers. We spent the morning at Pizza Express learning all about the role of a chef in a restaurant. We began by learning about the ingredients. We then got our hands sticky by kneading the dough. We topped our pizza by spreading the tomato sauce with the back of a spoon and sprinkled it with mozzarella and herbs. We waited until they were cooked and we brought them back to school to eat. Yum!
LONDON ZOO Year 1's trip to London Zoo was a roaring success and tied in with our topic, Amazing Animals, as well as our PSHCE lessons on how to care for ourselves and others. The zoo is divided into the five key continents and we were lucky enough to see the penguins, reptiles, gorillas, pelicans, giraffes and the lions up very close. The children were able to answer their own questions about animals and the different climates, habitats and characteristics.
Parsons Green Prep
MITHRAEUM AND AMPHITHEATRE To support Year 4’s STEAM and humanities topics we visited the City of London and the ancient ruins of a Roman temple and amphitheatre. Our first stop was the London Mithraeum, where we tried to piece together the lives of the citizens of Londinium. Our second stop was the amphitheatre, where we walked the path of gladiators. The children gained a real understanding of Roman life, Roman architecture and the importance of archaeological study.
THE ROALD DAHL MUSEUM Year 3 spent the day becoming story writers, using their amazing imaginations to create their own characters and settings out of everyday activities routines. They then transformed these into a fantastic ideas book, which we were able to bring back to school and use in subsequent English lessons to plan pieces of writing. In the afternoon the children visited Roald Dahl’s memorial in the churchyard in Great Missenden.
THE BRITISH LIBRARY Year 2 applied what they have learnt when writing stories to oral storytelling on their school trip. They collaboratively created and orally told their own imaginative stories, which involved magical boats, guardians of the library, a maze and Queen Elizabeth II. The educational leaders at the library were incredibly impressed with the enthusiasm, language choices, drama skills and unique ideas shared by everyone. What a wonderful trip. Parsons Green Prep
STEAM SUBJECTS
MATHS This term everyone took part in Speedy Maths Day. We all know how important quick recall of number facts are. Years 1 and 2 were challenged to recall their number bonds to twenty. Years 3 and 4 played multiplication darts. Years 4, 5 and 6 were all put to the test to complete a times tables grid. All children were awarded two house points for taking part and then ten house points for the child who got all the questions correct in the quickest time. Some of the scores were phenomenal.
STEAM OVERVIEW In Reception the children explored their construction skills and improved their creations. They also had their Year 1 and Year 4 STEAM days, when they studied and designed kites and learned about medical science. In Pre-prep the children have designed and built their own balloon-powered cars and explored early animation by creating their own thaumatropes. In Prep the children have studied DNA, designed and built scale models of Roman buildings and designed machines to move monoliths.
CHESS It’s great to see so many new players in the club this term. They start at different levels but the intricacies of chess soon consume them. We have moved on from developing pieces early in the game to thinking about the advantages of gaining good position on the board. This leads to tactics and great focus. Castling for advantage has been a goal. Added to this, all club members have been introduced to the coded language of Chess Notation. Parsons Green Prep
COMPUTING The new computing curriculum focuses on three areas of learning: computer science, digital literacy and information systems. This term Year 1 learned how to use technology safely and Year 2 learned how to behave responsibly online. Year 3 focused on e-safety and appropriate online content and Year 4 learned how to check if information is reliable. Years 5 and 6 have continued to build their coding skills by debugging, designing and coding their own algorithms using a range of functions.
CODING CLUB The Pre-prep and Prep coding clubs enable the children to apply and grow their coding skills as well as hone their creativity. Whether it’s creating a 3D underwater world or an epic battle between King Kong and Godzilla, they never run out of ideas. In our final club of the term, the children celebrated Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lawson, who has been dubbed ‘the father of video games’. They loved playing and designing four-bit video games in his honour. Parsons Green Prep
YOUNG ENGINEERS The year kicked off in the Years 1 and 2 class with learning about structures and transmissions by building pirate ships and conveyor belts. Our more experienced Young Engineers worked with gear transmissions and conversion of linear to circular to build railroad crossings and a ‘flying man’. The term ended with learning about momentum and we performed tests to see if our motor-energised spinning tops would spin longer or faster with more weight.
IN THE CLASSROOM
RECEPTION
YEAR 1
The children have settled fantastically well into the first term at PGP. They have begun their reading and writing journey and started to explore new mathematical concepts. Our topics have been All About Me, where the children shared exciting snippets of their life, and People Who Help Us, with visits to Pizza Express, Fulham Fire Station and KidZania. The children have developed their social and role play skills in all these immersive environments. What an excellent start to their educational journey.
From celebrating Rosh Hashanah and trying Challah bread to exploring marvellous maths within 20, Year 1 have had a fantastic term. Not to forget creating a non-fiction Big Book of Small Machines in English and exploring the Five Senses and the Seasons in science. A highlight was performing the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and joining Reception for a whole day of STEAM thinking. We created van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Lowry’s urban factory scene, comparing rural and urban environments.
YEAR 2 This term has been filled with wolves, fiction and non-fiction, crayons who want to quit and elusive Bog Babies. A wonderful range of texts have inspired Year 2 to write for different purposes. Through maths lessons the children have learnt new addition and subtraction strategies and applied them in different contexts, even calculating money totals and finding change. We have also become a class of explorers, learning about past explorations and significant individuals and how they have contributed to life in 2022. Parsons Green Prep
YEAR 3 What a wonderfully busy and exciting term. Not only have the children approached the step-up to Prep with energy and determination, but they have also showcased their fantastic ideas in the work they have produced. This has ranged from a brilliant class assembly where the children shared some of their work to our trip to the Roald Dahl Museum, where they wowed everyone with their creativity. Well done Year 3 – Miss Arabella hopes you feel proud of yourselves.
YEAR 4
YEAR 5
We have learned about British history from prehistoric times through to the Romans. We studied artefacts from New Stone Age settlement Skara Bray and tried to uncover the mystery of the Bronze Age Amesbury archer. We have written emotive recounts based on Mount Vesuvius’ eruption and even turned the story into narrative poems. We designed our own flying machines and enhanced our mathematical knowledge and reasoning skills.
The highlight of this term has been our Victorian topic. We loved reading our class novel, Street Child, where we were introduced to many aspects of Victorian life. In humanities we have had the opportunity to investigate these areas in more detail through role play, research and analysis of historical sources. The children particularly enjoyed our Victorian Day, when we were transported back in time as a very strict teacher replaced Miss Martha.
YEAR 6 What a busy term for Year 6. We have taken on extra responsibilities such as Head Boy and Head Girl, Sports Captains, Welfare Officers, House Captains and Art Captains. We have also been preparing for our 11+ examinations with great determination. We’ve worked steadily through many exam-style questions for verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths, creative writing and comprehension. We have also been getting ready for senior school interviews with Miss Beth, Dr Edmonds and outside agencies to brush up on our interview technique. Parsons Green Prep
LE FRENCH PROGRAMME Miss Claude would like to thank her students for their hard work this term. The Reception children have learned to only speak French during the lessons. They love working on their exercise books and listening to wonderful stories. The older children have settled well with reading, grammar and comprehension. We all love our after-school sessions too, where we work in groups. We take time to improve our writing skills and introduce some history, geography and more literature. Joyeux Noël!
SPORT
SPORTS CAPTAINS This year’s Sports Captains have been fantastic at leading the sport at Parsons Green Prep. Both of them have brought energy and enthusiasm to lessons and fixtures. They have shown excellent leadership skills, supporting others within the sports teams and by leading warm-ups and encouraging teammates. During fixtures they have been very good ambassadors for the school, welcoming opposition schools and showing sportsmanship throughout the matches. Well done to you both.
NETBALL This term has seen significantly more mixed netball being played. All children in Years 3 and 4 have been taking part in netball lessons at Hurlingham Park. The Year 5 and Year 6 girls have been focusing on netball during Wednesday afternoons. The highlights of the term were the Year 5 netball team winning the Inter-School netball tournament run by St James School and Year 3 winning Kew College’s netball tournament.
GYMNASTICS Gymnastics has been the main part of the indoor programme this term. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have been improving their climbing skills on the indoor climbing wall, which has been excellent for their physical development. Years 1 and 2 have been applying the core gymnastic skills of jumping, rolling, balancing and travelling to create movement phases. In Years 3 to 6 they have developed their skills further by creating group gymnastic routines with partner balances. Parsons Green Prep
SWIMMING
FOOTBALL Football has continued to be a popular part of the sports programme this term. Year 3 and Year 4 have had some excellent matches, with every child taking part in a football fixture. The highlight of the term was hosting Redcliffe School at Hurlingham Park, where we had three brilliant matches. The Year 5 and Year 6 boys have impressed with their development throughout the term and have had some excellent wins. A big thank you to the Chelsea Foundation for delivering outstanding after-school lessons across all year groups.
This term Year 3 and Year 4 have been taking part in swimming lessons on a Friday morning at Fulham Virgin Active Fitness Club. The children have loved their swimming lessons and it has been great to see their confidence and technique improve. They particularly enjoyed the races at the end of term, which brought out their competitive spirit. They are looking forward to displaying their skills in our swimming gala in the summer term. Thank you to the swim team at Fulham Virgin Active.
HOUSE MATCHES At the end of term all children in Prep took part in netball house matches. The event was a huge success. During the Years 3 and 4 matches Earhart came first. Only one goal separated Earhart and Attenborough who, after a 2-2 draw in the first round, went on to win the rest of their matches. Earhart achieved the double, winning the Years 5 and 6 competition, with Williams coming a close second after losing by just one goal. Parsons Green Prep
EVENTS
ECO COMMITTEE To maintain our Eco School Green Flag status, it’s important that we continue to review the school’s environmental impact. So this term the Eco Committee has carried out a comprehensive review. Pupils worked collaboratively to consider each environmental area and what we, as a school, are doing well and what we can improve on in the future. We then met, reviewed our findings and decided on two main areas of focus: biodiversity and the school grounds.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS CONCERT The Christmas concert was a wonderful coming together of the whole school for a lovely programme which included lots of new repertoire for our choirs. We are very proud of the children’s excellent singing. We also had some great poetry recitals from the children, which were delivered with great confidence and enthusiasm. It was a special concert with Mr. Ivan carrying us through on piano and Miss Arabella making her beautiful PGP singing debut with Silent Night. Happy Christmas everybody! Parsons Green Prep
CHARITY ROUND-UP Donations by parents for Harvest Festival were very well received by the Hammersmith & Fulham foodbank. For Children In Need’s SPOTacular Day, our Just Giving page raised £792. A big thank you for your generosity. With the new House system, the children have voted to fundraise for the following organisations: Attenborough - Shepherds Bush Families Project & Children's Centre; Earhart - FARA Kids; Shackleton - Hammersmith Community Gardens Association; Williams – Glassdoor. Fundraising activities will commence in the Spring term.