IN FOCUS 2020
By Mr Davies, Pre-Prep
It has been a wonderful year in Pre-Prep with so many exciting and memorable experiences to look back on. Back in Michaelmas term, the children went on their very first school trip to Greenacres Farm. There were many exciting experiences during our visit, not least the visit to the Lemur house, howling along with the wolves and the tractor ride through the fields, seeing highland cows, llamas and the Cameroon sheep. It was a fantastic day and one that led to many exciting learning opportunities during the rest of term.
Michaelmas term came to a close in Pre-Prep’s traditional and well-loved Nativity Play. The children had practised extremely hard and this was evident in their final performance in which they sang exceptionally and looked fantastic in their costumes. The applause at the end
highlighted how proud staff and parents alike were with the children for their effort. As part of our ‘People Who Help Us’ topic, the children were lucky enough to have a number of special visitors come into School and talk about their professions. From dentists to anaesthetists and vets to police officers, the children were treated to some inspiring stories about life in these professions as well as the chance to explore different resources and equipment used in their daily work lives. Throughout the year Pre-Prep looked at different ways to promote a love of literacy and stories. The ever-popular reading buddy initiative returned with classes from Year 6 partnering up with a Pre-Prep buddy each week to share stories. Once again, we were also fortunate to welcome a number of ‘Mystery Readers’ into School. Relatives of the children have volunteered to come to Pre-Prep and share their favourite stories with the cohort. This proved to be an extremely exciting and popular scheme with both children and adults alike. The lockdown proved to be a challenging time for all involved but as a team, we were immensely proud of the home learning that was undertaken by the children, supported by their parents. There were so many lovely stories and photographs of the activities, games and experiences that the children had whilst at home. The Early Years’ YouTube channel was a particular hit, with staff reading stories, teaching phonics and delivering fun activities and ideas. What a fantastic year it has been, despite the challenging circumstances, and all of the Pre-Prep team are very proud of the children’s endeavour and achievements.
What our children got up to during lockdown
As part of our H tasks w e challe ome learning to create nged our child ren a ‘Zoo P oster’.
8
ew arning n joyed le g n in e p s lo a e m Tho nd dev a s d n u . letter so cil control skills his pen
w w w. b i r k e n h e a d s c h o o l . c o . u k
Rose en joyed m a used th em on h king binoculars er walk and on Bids ton Hill.
