PREP NEWSLETTER
20th - 24th February Lent Term Newsletter Issue 6
Headmaster's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Religious Theme
What is Lent?
A warm welcome back to you, staff and children, all of whom, it is such a privilege to see as we begin this next half term I trust that you got some sort of a break over last week’s opportunity for respite
Firstly, congratulations to all of those children involved in entrance exams here and elsewhere. Almost all have now received offers from St Edmund’s (and a few other desired destinations) and for the children, having a clearer idea about their future, they are now more or less entirely able to positively focus on what lies ahead, re-doubling efforts in committing to academic, sporting and artistic aims, forging friendships and settling into a life-experience which, for all of us here at least, aims to be and almost always is, an inspirational one
The Form Six children have been cast in their roles for Mary Poppins which we look forward to next term, and I must say that they appear to have dealt with both joy and disappointment with humility and perspective, such is their way in our school The Pancake Race on Tuesday was absolutely brilliant – let me tell you, you really missed out on something there - and we now commit to our Lenten journey
Foremost in our thoughts then, are the traditional ‘three pillars’: prayer, alms giving and giving or taking something up. All of us will likely have a habit or routine that might not quite keep us focused on becoming God’s true vision for us preventing us perhaps from truly realising the unique and awesome people that we have the potential to become Mothers, fathers, grandparents, employers, employees, husbands, wives, children ourselves, colleagues and friends to so many our roles are many and various and this six-week period gives us an opportunity to reflect, to grow in spirituality and adopt a new habit or perspective, settling into ourselves and creating an inner power and strength that we may not have as yet, come to know
So hunker down people, it’s time for less sugar in our tea and for immersing ourselves in a little self-sacrifice to the benefit of those who we love and give us daily purpose and inspiration.
Yours sincerely,
Mr S Cartwright Headmaster, St Edmund’s Prep
Mr Cartwright's quiz
Q: Which sport takes place in a velodrome?
A: In next week's Newsletter
Last Week's answer
Q: Which country has the biggest population in the world?
A: China
A CAFOD prayer for Ukraine
Loving God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine, for all those suffering or afraid, that you will be close to them and protect them
We pray for world leaders, for compassion, strength and wisdom to guide their choices
We pray for the world that in this moment of crisis, we may reach out in solidarity to our brothers and sisters in need
May we walk in your ways so that peace and justice become a reality for the people of Ukraine and for all the world
Amen
Head's Commendations
Lily Elliott
Josie Sharp
Tito Adepegba
Albert Field
Leo Grange
Sam Belsey
Connor Muller
Ellie Northen
Laurens Scott
Hudson Guinchard
Alexander Petch
Ella Rudman
Thomas Smits
Adrian Yu
Ronnie Dark
Brett Gigg
Aiden Gupta
Etta Inman
Henry Skitt
George Smith
AJ Fynn
For her great job description
For her super character description Maths
Handwriting Maths
For excellent linking of understanding in Science to plan, predict and carry out an investigation
Computing Place Value Model
Computing Place Value Model
Computing Place Value Model
Excellent Meta-thinking on tricky Fraction work
Outstanding research work on Pope Francis
A fantastic poem about Kensuke's Kingdom that can be read forwards AND backwards
Excellent Meta-thinking on tricky Fraction work
Consistently well presented and completed maths homework
Hardworking - in English and Maths
Excellent algebraic problem solving
Maths Homework
Excellent use of perspective to retell a known story
Maths Homework
Showing hard work, being proactive and keen to learn
Fantastic application of mathematical knowledge whilst solving word problems
Upcoming dates - March
Wednesday 1st
Thursday 2nd
Friday 3rd
Friday 10th
U11 Girls' Football v Bancrofts - Away
World Book Day - Dress as your favourite book character
U9 Mixed Hockey v Bancrofts - Away
U11 Boys' Hockey v Forest - Away
Prep Open Morning - please tell your friends!
Swimming Pool
We had hoped that the required part would be delivered in time to begin the half term immersed in the blue waters of Edmundia Unfortunately, it has been reported that this is likely to still be another fortnight in arriving here Time will be well spent in classrooms on academic matters and parents and children will be notified as soon as business can resume as normal.
The first daffodil spotted in our wonderful Forest School area, Spring has almost sprung
E-Safety
WhatsApp will be releasing the following new Privacy features soon:
1 Leave Groups Silently: you will be able to exit a group privately so instead of the whole group being notified, only the admins will be.
2. Choose Who Can See When You're Online: WhatsApp are introducing the ability to select who can and can’t see when you’re online
3 Screenshot Blocking for View Once Messages You can read more about these new features here : https://blog whatsapp com/
This week in the Prep...
Pan’s Up! The St Edmund’s Prep Annual Pancake Race
A fierce but fun contest fought out on the Astro-turf on Shrove Tuesday Mr Goodfellow and associated sports staff along with Heads of House manned ‘flipping stations’ and House Zones to ensure unquestionable fair play was adhered to In the end though, there had to be a winner and well done to Campion House who tore across the line ahead of the Mayne and Southworth who achieved second and third respectively An annual memorable highlight, enjoyed by all
William Morris
Form 2 have enjoyed learning all about the artist William Morris, who was around during the Victorian era William Morris is very famous for his wallpaper designs He created some beautiful designs, the likes of which had never been used before In fact, wallpaper before his day was quite plain William Morris, who was also an environmental campaigner, created designs of floral patterns which were repeated many times by block printing. We had a go at making some of our own wallpaper, inspired by William’s techniques.
This week in the Prep...
Firefighters in training
Some firefighters came to visit us from Hertford fire station before half-term The children were delighted to see the enormous red fire engine pull alongside our playground Jason and Helen told us about the job they do and showed us some of their equipment Hoses, buckets, jaws of life and the longest ladders we have ever seen! Everyone had a chance to climb into the back seat of the fire engine where they saw the firefighters’ masks
Bonjour Madame Lundi!
Form 2 children have been learning and acting a French nursery rhyme on the days of the week -the second on this themewith much enthusiasm! Bon week-end!
(Have a lovely end of week!)
Bonjour Madame Lundi! Good morning, Mrs Monday! How are are you, Mrs Tuesday? Very well, Mrs Wednesday! Tell Mrs Thursday, to come on Friday, because I am leaving on Saturday to arrive on Sunday!
Scholarship Success
Congratulations to the below children who have been awarded a 7+ and 11+ scholarship Well Done to all of the children who took part and to children of Form 6 in gaining a place at their chosen school
Edwin Webster
Jai Patel
Wesley Cooper
Aiden Gupta
Phoebe Wild
Olivia Bacon-Sugrue
Isabelle Bacon-Sugrue
Etta Inman
Emilia-Jane Noble
PERFORMING ARTS
Mary Poppins - Cast Announced
Well done, Form 6, on all the effort you put into preparing for the auditions and for your performances on the day After finding out which parts they are to play in the summer show, the children began reading through the script for the first time on Tuesday afternoon
Instrumental and Singing Lessons at the Prep
We are pleased that so many pupils at the Prep take Music lessons. There are currently 95 lessons timetabled each week with a dedicated team of Visiting Music Teachers, covering a variety of instruments and singing The benefits of co-curricular music lessons are wide-ranging, including developing cognitive ability, memory, confidence, and above all, a love of music
Do consider requesting lessons; the form is on the Parent Portal (under ‘Joining Information’)
The Form 6 children nervously await the casting revelation following their audition, for their summer production of ‘Mary Poppins’ Smiles quickly followed for the first read through of their script and hums of ‘A spoonful of sugar’ could be heard through the corridors.
Easter Hamper
Keep an eye out for the Easter Hamper letter that has been sent out today in your child's book bag
11+ 7+
World Book Day
Next week, we will celebrate ‘World Book Day’ on Thursday 2nd March and the children can come to school dressed as their favourite book character In the lead up to the day, please support us by visiting our travelling book fair, which is based in the meeting room at the front of the Prep. For every book sold, we receive a donation, which goes towards replenishing our own library for all of the pupils to enjoy. All of the children have been given a World Book Day token, which can be used at the fair against any book over £2.99 or exchanged for a free book at your local participating supermarket or bookshop
We are also running three new competitions this year:
Story scene box – create a scene from your favourite book and display it in a shoe box (please make sure that the base of the box becomes the backdrop).
Design a bookmark – design a book themed bookmark of their choice, perhaps covered in characters or depicting a particular genre. Be as creative and imaginative as you like
Create your own book character – write a detailed description of your very own book character: What do they look like? What is their personality? What type of story will they belong to? You can submit a drawing alongside your description
The competition deadline is next Friday 3rd March
