Autumn Edition - December 2024
HEAD’S MESSAGE
FROM THE HEAD
One highlight was the outstanding early years report by the local authority. It exemplifies the consistently high teaching and learning and children making rapid progress within an ethos where aiming high is embedded. The refurbishment of play areas has been a huge success, with carefully crafted outdoor learning and play environments extending the exceptional quality of our indoor learning. This level of success would not be possible without a strong partnership with parents and the sustained commitment to excellence of staff and governance. Thank you.
Dr Edmonds
FRIENDS OF PARSONS GREEN PREP
FOPGP celebrated the Autumn term with its annual Movie Night in a hall full of balloons. The children enjoyed films including Shaun the Sheep and Inside Out 2 from plush beanbags. December brought the popular holiday-themed cookie decorating and crafts day, along with our first paper chain challenge. The season concluded with a festive cocktail party for parents and staff.
Kate Forrester
Child centred recommendations and improvements through our class representatives have focused on a list of expectations when using the highly popular ‘Titan’ playground structure, the introduction of sushi at lunch, division of the astro to enable two different sports to run simultaneously and ensuring the array of books in the library remain in good condition. The school now has ‘rules’ for use of the Titan that resonate with all.
HEADS OF SCHOOL
Head 1: Sports fixtures in football and netball have been a highlight. These were great opportunities for us to develop our sports skills as well as show resilience, determination and sportsmanship.
Head 2: We especially enjoyed the FOPGP movie night. The room was decorated beautifully and we had delicious snacks to eat when watching our movie. Thank you to the FOPGP.
HOUSE CUP RESULTS
Williams won with an average of 69.2 house points per pupil this term. Congratulations! Shackleton came a close 2nd with 68, Attenborough 3rd with 64.7 and Earhart 4th with 56.
THE ARTS
ART
We have had a busy term beginning with Art Day, which produced some amazing work around the Dutch painting, The Courtyard of a House in Delft. In lessons Years 1, 2 and 6 have been learning about a variety of artists, their lives and techniques. Years 3 and 5 have been using different printing methods, press print and lino prints, for their work on chocolate and William Morris. Year 4 have been looking at Roman mosaics and creating work around that theme, culminating in a mosaic tile.
BALLET
This term the dancers have worked on building foundations in classical ballet technique. We have worked hard on our positions of the arms, jumps, turnout and pointy toes. The class have also practised improving their posture and balance, while incorporating fun, creative exercises to develop coordination and musicality. Inspired by music, props and storytelling, the dancers learned to express themselves through movement while gaining confidence in their dancing abilities. Well done everyone.
MUSIC
This term our pupils have been exploring a range of styles, from traditional folk songs to modern compositions, honing their skills in choir rehearsals, instrumental ensembles and classroom music lessons. We’re proud of their dedication, especially in preparing for Christmas. Highlights include learning new carols, showcasing talents and working collaboratively on festive performances. It’s been a joy to see their musical confidence grow.
OUT AND ABOUT
THE POSTAL MUSEUM
What a fantastic, immersive trip. We went deep underground on the Mail Rail Ride, discovering the story of the postal services world beneath the streets of London. We took a look around the exhibition, where the children played a game of ‘I Spy’. We then set off on a sensory adventure to deliver season’s greetings with the Jolly Christmas Postman. We finished the day exploring Stored!, an immersive mini-town with streets, buildings, trolley, pulleys, slides and chutes.
SCIENCE MUSEUM
Year 1 visited the Science Museum as part of their Journeys topic. The pupils were amazed by the range of artefacts displayed in the gallery and worked diligently to locate the items in a scavenger hunt. They were in awe of the piece of rock from the moon. Year 1 also took part in a space workshop where they learnt how astronauts prepare for space, including the properties of spacesuits and even how astronauts go to the loo in space. Fantastic curiosity and enthusiasm shown on our first Year 1 trip - well done.
THE BRITISH LIBRARY
In Year 2 we enjoyed a brilliant trip to the British Library. The children enjoyed storytelling workshops, which helped them to use their imagination. The hands-on activities and unique library collection made learning fun and deepened our love for storytelling. The staff at the British Library commented on the children’s enthusiasm and their excellent behaviour.
THE ROALD DAHL MUSEUM
In November Year 3 set off to the village of Great Missenden to visit the Roald Dahl museum. We began our day being introduced to the many stories that Roald Dahl wrote before we entered a space where children could get as creative as possible, even dressing up to make new characters. We then moved into another room (that smelt of chocolate) where we got to learn all about Roald Dahl, his childhood and all the different ways he was inspired. What fun we had.
THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
We learnt all about how earthquakes occur and the devastation caused by volcanic eruptions on this fantastic trip. The 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake simulator gave us a really good idea of how cities are affected by natural disasters. We loved exploring all the exhibitions and taking part in our natural disaster workshop. Year 4 became first responders and helped to keep the city of 'Volcano Town' safe from any further eruptions.
STEAM SUBJECTS
MATHS
All PGP children from Year 1 to Year 6 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 20. Years 3 and 4 played multiplication darts. Years 4, 5 and 6 were all put to the test to complete a times tables grid accurately in the quickest time possible. Some of the scores were phenomenal and we would like to encourage everyone to keep revising those number facts at home.
CODING AND ANIMATION CLUB
The Prep school’s Coding Club has used Scratch to initially code a Pacman game and then a Geometry Dash or Paddle game. Together we’ve developed our characteristics of patience, hard work and perseverance. On the animation side, Preprep pupils have enthusiastically engaged with animation activities and coding challenges. Pupils animated bonfire night scenes and coded fireworks to explode using the ‘when clicked’ and ‘timer’ functions. Everyone worked hard to improve their animations.
STEAM OVERVIEW
Reception have been planning and designing using their woodwork bench. Year 1 have been exploring materials and Year 2 have been studying engineering concepts. Year 3 focused on creating Aztec board games while Year 4 were drawing to scale within Roman architecture lessons. Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed their DNA topic while Year 6 learned how the Neolithic people created Stonehenge. This all helps develop problem-solving skills and demonstrates their ability to follow plans for successful outcomes.
YOUNG ENGINEERS
During the Autumn term our Young Engineers had a lot of fun learning about balance. They did this by building a scale and watched how a snail gear worked to make the arm of a railroad crossing move slowly up and down. We also had a look at symmetry, centrifugal force and vibration when we built a steamroller. Everyone enjoyed themselves as they tried to flatten a sheet of aluminium foil with their steamroller.
COMPUTING
Years 5 and 6 took part in an online safety workshop presented by the Prevent Education Officer from the Local Authority, where the children learnt SMART rules for staying safe on the internet. PGP parents also had an opportunity to attend a workshop providing top tips and useful signposting information for keeping children safe online. The online landscape in relation to children was discussed, followed by looking at key areas of potential risk: social media, influencers, gaming and extreme content.
CHESS
In Years 1 and 2 Chess Club we have been developing the children’s knowledge of the rules, tactics and to move the pieces correctly. During Chess Club the children have been able to play lots of matches with their friends and participate in healthy competition to eventually take part in chess tournaments from Year 3 up to Year 6. If you do not have anyone to play with at home, ask an adult whether you can play chess on a phone or tablet app over the Christmas holidays.
IN THE CLASSROOM
RECEPTION
Well done Panda Class on your first term at PGP. You have studied the topics All About Me and Superheroes: People Who Help Us. You showed courage and confidence with exploring who you are and sharing all your wonderful traits with your peers. You immersed yourself into Police, Firefighter and Medical Professional role-play whilst creating interactive resources to enhance your play. You enjoyed a trip to the Postal Museum and performed remarkably in the Nativity. Gold stars all round.
YEAR 2
This term has been a wonderful time in Year 2 and the children have risen well to the challenge of entering a new year at school. They have lent on their friendships and worked together to deepen their thinking in new areas of the curriculum As a class, the children have created a supportive and encouraging learning environment, listening to each other and having the confidence to express their opinions. In the Spring term we will continue to enjoy learning together and always trying to work towards our next goal.
YEAR 1
The class demonstrated magnificent motivation across the curriculum. In maths pupils developed their knowledge of place value and shape. They were introduced to addition and subtraction and have been applying this to reasoning problems. In English they enjoyed extended writing opportunities based on Cave Baby and Astro Girl. Year 1 eagerly explored materials and animal habitats and diets through topic lessons whilst developing their knowledge of the past. A fabulous first term for Year 1.
YEAR 3
Whether it was time travelling back to the ancient Aztecs or journeying across the world to study the effects of climate and weather, Year 3 have eagerly dived into their learning. We have used our STEAM skills to design and engineer bridges for our floating chinampas, explore the growth and production of chocolate and even debate ethical dilemmas on cocoa farming. These skills, alongside maths and writing techniques, have allowed the class to do great things.
YEAR 4
We have travelled through the wardrobe in English and written fantastic pieces based on C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We have travelled back in time and learnt all about the Romans, how they lived, the gods and goddesses they worshipped and the battles they fought. In maths we have enjoyed reviewing and expanding on our place value knowledge whilst also moving onto 2D shapes and plotting coordinates. A fantastic term Year 4.
YEAR 6
The Autumn term has been incredibly busy for Year 6. This term we focused on forming healthy relationships and valuing differences in PSHCE, engineering in STEAM and classification and the circulatory system in science. We covered a range of formal and mental strategies in maths lessons. In English lessons we will continue to develop comprehension skills, learn grammar rules and apply creative ideas to extended writing. Within both maths and English lessons we completed 11+ past papers to apply all of our learnt skills.
YEAR 5
Year 5 have had an exciting term exploring life in the Victorian times. Our English work has been inspired by the book Street Child, where we’ve developed our comprehension skills, grammar knowledge and story writing technique. In STEAM we studied DNA, while in science we have researched a range of animal life cycles. In maths we’ve practised a variety of mental and formal strategies for all four operations and applied these to problems.
ADVANCED FRENCH PROGRAMME
Our little group of francophone children have embraced this new academic year in Advanced French with excitement. The children have had a very busy term. They have worked efficiently in their exercise books but also learned several poems and songs. Every week a new subject is introduced to enrich their vocabulary. Please do keep reading the books borrowed from our French library at home. ‘Joyeuses fêtes de fin d'année’ and practise French while having fun.
NETBALL HOUSE MATCHES
In the Years 3 and 4 Netball House Matches Earhart were the overall winners following three impressive victories. Attenborough came 2nd with two wins. Shackleton and Williams drew each other, but Shackleton took 3rd place on goal difference. In the Years 5 and 6 Netball House Matches Earhart completed the double with another three wins. Attenborough came second, with Williams and Shackleton placing third and fourth respectively.
SPORTS CAPTAINS
This year’s Sports Captains have been fantastic role models for the school. They have led by example with their enthusiasm and sportsmanship, both on and off the field. They have been excellent ambassadors for the school during competitive fixtures against other schools. Thank you for delivering sports reports during assembly, assisting in handing out sportsmanship certificates and for leading warmups during lessons and match practices. Well done to both of you.
NETBALL
The Prep school have enjoyed taking part in netball lessons at Hurlingham Park and have made excellent progress with their netball skills. We have had several fantastic fixtures, with highlights being wins against Kensington Prep School and Wandsworth Prep. Next term Year 6 have the ISA and IAPS netball competitions to look forward to. Excitingly, Year 2 will also be starting netball fixtures and building on the skills they have practised during their on-site PE lessons.
FOOTBALL
The Prep school have had some excellent fixtures this term. We achieved impressive wins against Brighton College Prep, Kew College Prep, St James Prep and Westminster Under School. Year 2 participated in their first term of fixtures, the highlight being our Year 2 football festival, where we hosted five other schools. A big thank you to Fulham Football Club, which started working with PGP this September and has been delivering outstanding after-school sessions to all year groups.
SWIMMING
This term Year 3 and Year 4 have been taking part in swimming lessons at Virgin Active Fulham Pools. It has been excellent to see their technique and confidence in the pool progress. At the end of the term the children competed in the swimming gala in the disciplines of front crawl, breaststroke and backstroke. Thank you to the swimming team at Fulham Pools. PGP’s top swimmers in Years 4, 5 and 6 competed in the ISA London West swimming competition and did the school proud – well done.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics has been the core component of the indoor programme this term across the whole school. Pre-prep children have been learning different types of individual balances, rolls and jumps to create movement phases. They have also been having fun on the indoor climbing wall. The Prep school children have been creating different gymnastics routines using various partner and group balances to improve their gymnastic skills.
EVENTS
CHRISTMAS CAROLS CONCERT
The musical highlight of this term has been preparing for our Christmas Carols Concert, which took place on Monday 9 December in the church. All pupils worked tirelessly to learn a beautiful selection of carols and seasonal pieces, which were performed during this special event. Their enthusiasm, teamwork, and dedication to their music have been genuinely inspiring. We were excited to see their hard work come to life in a memorable and heartwarming celebration. Well done everyone.
ECO COMMITTEE
Our new Eco Schools topics this year are School Grounds, Biodiversity and Healthy Living. The Eco committee have worked hard to find ways to explore these topics. They cannot wait to launch a new Gardening Club to grow herbs and wild flowers, to contribute to the world’s largest wildlife survey by taking part in the RSPB’s Big Schools Birdwatch, alongside working with our lovely Chef Elena to share planetfriendly recipes with the school community.
CHARITY ROUND-UP
During house meetings the children voted for their preferred charities, leading to a diverse selection for the academic year. Attenborough House has chosen Mayhew, focusing on the welfare of dogs, cats, and the community. Williams House selected West London Action for Children, while Earhart House will support Fulham Good Neighbours. Shackleton House opted for Doorstep Library (pictured). Through this breadth of charities, the houses will arrange fundraising days to make a meaningful impact in our community. Happy Christmas!