The Echo Spring 2013

THEECHO ECHO ECHO

Spring 2013 Edition

Year 6 Enjoy Success Across the Board!

During the first half of the spring term the primary focus for the pupils in Year 6 was upon their 11+ entrance examinations. Once again the children were prepared for a range of secondary schools and once again they enjoyed a 100% success rate. Academic achievement was recognised by the award of a number of Scholarships, as well as outstanding ability in sport, music and drama. However, more importantly and without exception, feedback from all the senior schools Kaja Abbeyfield School Harry Brighton College

Dauntsey’s School Amber Dauntsey’s School Benedict Dauntsey’s School Charles Dauntsey’s School Guy Dauntsey’s School Hermione Dauntsey’s School

Susannah Dauntsey’s School Thomas Dauntsey’s School

Camilla Downe House Tala Hardenhuish School Henry Kingswood School

Day Day Day Day Day Day Academic Scholarship Music Scholarship Music Exhibition Day Academic Scholarship Music Exhibition Academic Exhibition Day Boarding

reflected our children’s excellent commitment to learning, the confident and articulate way in which they conducted themselves in interviews and their enthusiasm for each and every aspect of school life!

It is with immense pride that we publish our examination results for 2013 and we send congratulations to the children and the staff on their superb achievements!

Holly Kingswood School Annelies Leweston School Jack Royal Wootton

Bassett Academy Jessica Sheldon School Shiku St Augustine’s

Catholic College Charlotte St Mary’s, Calne

Jolie St Mary’s, Calne Kirsten St Mary’s, Calne Lily St Mary’s, Calne Lucy St Mary’s, Calne Maisie St Mary’s, Calne Rose St Mary’s, Calne

Sport Scholarship Boarding Day Day Day Academic Scholarship Music Scholarship Academic Scholarship Drama Scholarship English Exhibition Science Exhibition Day Day

Welcome to the Spring Edition of The Echo At the time of writing I am looking out of my office window and it is snowing – not an opening line I have used before in my spring communication! Despite the relative shortness of this term, it has been remarkable in so many ways. The children and staff have worked extraordinarily hard in every aspect of school life and collectively their achievements have been many. Furthermore, the ongoing success of St Margaret’s has been acknowledged by the governors who have committed to the construction of a new school library.

Building work will commence in March and we anticipate approximately six months before completion of the project. Therefore, when we return to school in September for the start of the 2013/14 academic year, the whole community will benefit from our new multi-media learning facility. Perhaps by then it might even have stopped snowing...

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of The Echo and send children, staff, parents and friends my good wishes for a peaceful Easter holiday.

www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Swimming in Kindergarten The Kindergarten children have been busy in their swimming lessons this term, learning to move around the pool independently using flutter kick, froggy legs and dolphin kicks. To encourage increased independence, they have been jumping into the pool in a pencil shape and singing songs with actions in the water. Everyone has been finding out ways to collect objects from the bottom of the pool and they have also been taking toys from one side of the pool to the other, climbing over floats and through hoops as they go.

A splashing time was had by all!

Reception HC Learn the ‘Weigh’ The children in Reception HC have been extending their maths skills by exploring weight. They found different objects from the indoor and outdoor classrooms and predicted which ones would be heavier than others. They soon discovered that not all large objects are heavy, for example the big blow up ball. The children then worked with partners to try and make the balancing scales balance.

They used pebbles, conkers, wooden blocks, sand and plastic insects. It involved lots of teamwork and perseverance to make each side equal. Throughout the different practical activities the children tried really hard to use the correct mathematical vocabulary, including ‘heavier’, ‘lighter’, ‘balanced’, and ‘equal.’

What Big Voices You Have!

Victorian Rooms in 1J

The children in Reception KC brought the characters from Little Red Riding Hood to life through role-play this term. They all took turns to play Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, The Wolf and The Woodcutter as part of their re-enactment of this popular traditional tale. The cast responded well to instructions from both their self-appointed narrator and director!

The children in 1J have been making Victorian rooms as part of their Design and Technology this term. Their ideas were inspired by a recent visit to Lydiard House, where they gained first-hand experience of Victorian life. Once back in school, the children designed the room they wished to make.

The child-led classroom productions also included lots of dressing-up, acting and children exploring the use of their voices to express the feelings of the characters.

Life on Struay for 1T Everyone in 1T had great fun this term, reading about the fictitious stormy island of Struay. The children acted out stormy days and planned and wrote their own stories. They used their imagination to create their own stormy pictures, mixing sand and paint and collage. In Geography the children learnt about living on a small island and about how different life is from their own. In Design and Technology the class learnt how to use Mod-Roc to create their version of the Island of Struay.

They cut out real wallpaper and carpet and glued these onto their box.

They then used junk modelling to create the furniture, following their design carefully.

This was great fun and enjoyed by all.

Year 2 African Art The African theme running through this term’s work has seen the children producing some fantastic art, culminating in their combined African printing scene. They started by learning how to use a colour wash to paint a glorious sunset background. They then used a polystyrene block, paying great attention to detail, to make their own African-inspired printing block. After practising with varying amounts of paint, they produced a printed border. Finally, they used a selection of everyday objects to create texture and patterns on the silhouettes of African animals. With all of the work assembled on display, they now have a stunning panorama of an African plain at sunset.

Sharing some African stories during this work has helped the children to understand about African life and its similarities and differences.

Fantastic Finger Puppets!

The children in 2H have worked hard on refining their sewing skills in Design & Technology this term, in order to create some wonderful, African-inspired finger puppets. They have enjoyed learning about the world of puppets and have experimented with a number of different types in their own puppet theatre. For their own finger puppets they took inspiration from their Geography unit on Kenya, in order to bring a number of Kenyan animals to life. There was a range of animals from slithering snakes to cheeky chimps, from lively lions to a creepy crocodile! In order to make these effective puppets, the children needed to join their materials carefully by using a number of different techniques. Googly eyes and cheeky smiles were a must to make their puppets full of character! 2H’s range of finger puppets all make for fantastic entertainment in their own African shows. Be prepared to be amazed!

Year 3 Visit the Corinium Museum On Thursday 28th February, Year 3 excitedly boarded the coach for a trip to the Roman town of Cirencester, to visit the Corinium Museum. The day began with the main teaching session on Everyday Life, an exciting chance to handle artefacts and learn from one of the experts at the museum. A particular favourite was using a magnetic board and coloured tiles to construct a mosaic. It was great to see some of the children using their recent knowledge of symmetry when completing their patterns.

After a short break for lunch, the children split up into their groups and had the opportunity to look around the whole museum. The museum contains actual Roman mosaics found in Cirencester, which the children were amazed to see. The afternoon session also included a visit to the museum shop, which not surprisingly, was a popular event! It can safely be said that the visit to Corinium was popular with all of Year 3 and the children were a credit to St Margaret’s.

THEECHO ECHO ECHO SPRING 2013 EDITION

Learning about Beatrix Potter

Skeletons in the Classroom This term in Science, the children in 3R have learnt all about skeletons.

Everyone amazed themselves with how many different names for bones in their body they could recall. The children enjoyed comparing human and animal skeletons and trying to guess which skeleton matched which animal. Their favourite investigation was linked to their work on how muscles help our body to move. The class had a practical investigation in the playground to test whether our muscles work harder when we exercise. There were some surprises in the results, but the resounding conclusion was most definitely, yes!

The children in 4NC started Book Week in February knowing little about this famous author, even though many of them had been given her books or seen her pictures on china and cards.

Everyone read one of her stories each day, filling in a comparison chart to see how she had planned her stories; they all seemed to involve naughty animals who learnt a lesson at the end of their adventures.

The children greatly enjoyed drawing animals in the style of Beatrix Potter and learning about her childhood. At the end of the week, everyone wrote poems about their own animals for a Book Week competition. Beatrix Potter wrote a diary in a special code that was not broken until 15 years after her death and had stories published in Braille, as well as many different languages. She was also responsible for saving many of the farms and land people enjoy in the Lake District today. Everyone is now really keen to keep reading her wonderful tales about mischievous creatures!

‘Where Does the Water go?’

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Earlier this term, the children in Year 4 were invited by the Woodland Trust to plant trees in the new Jubilee Wood that is being developed in Swindon. It was a bitterly cold morning when the intrepid gardeners set out, but they soon warmed up digging into the frozen ground near Akers Way. All the children were able to plant a sapling and the team from the Trust spoke to them about the native species that were being used to develop the Woodland. Finally to get warm, everyone played a game of listening and responding, thinking about woodland sounds. Hopefully the trees will grow and the children will be able to visit the woodland over the coming years to watch their work develop into a habitat for future generations to study and enjoy.

Each child received a certificate of participation, marking their contribution towards the development of the Jubilee Woodland. woodlandtrust .org.uk 01476 58111 1

A non-profit

As part of their Geography curriculum, a visitor from Wessex Water came to school to tell the children in 5G what happens to the water we use at home and at school. First, the children learnt about how water is cleaned before arriving at the tap. The discussion of filters gave real meaning to part of the Science curriculum, where the class cleaned up water using gravel and sand as filters.

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There was then a highly entertaining demonstration called ‘Sewage Soup’ where all the things that might go down the drain in a morning were added to a tank of water... The result was a dirty, discoloured ‘soup’ that would go down the plug-hole for the water treatment works to clean. Finally, in an experiment the class compared different types of paper to see what happens to each one when placed in water and thoroughly shaken up. Did you know that toilet tissue almost dissolves, while normal tissue paper forms a clump and paper towels do not change at all? This is what happens if people drop the wrong kind of paper down the loo! The message given from Wessex Water is that everyone needs to take more care about what they flush away as we all depend on fresh clean water.

www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Theatrical 5W The children in 5W had great fun bringing Tudor times to life in their class assembly this term. Having studied Henry VIII and his wives in class, they wrote a play showing the lasting impact he made on England by splitting from Rome in his quest for an heir. Everyone really enjoyed dressing as sixteenth century royalty and put their own Tudor lyrics to Robbie Williams’ ‘Candy’ to round off the assembly.

Evacuee Day in Year 6 As part of their History studies, the children in Year 6 spent a day being evacuees. They all came to school dressed up as wartime children – no modern fabrics such as fleece were allowed. The boys wore shorts, jumpers, jackets and caps, whilst the girls dressed in wool cardigans, dresses or skirts, knee socks and berets. Everyone had to keep their gas masks, identity papers and ration books with them at all times or risk a fine! The day commenced with two visitors, each with personal memories of the Second World War. Firstly Mrs Fearnley-Whittingstall (Guy’s Grandmother) spoke about wartime rationing and discussed thrifty wartime ways to feed a family. Everyone was amazed by how far a week’s rations had to stretch, and how Britain ‘Dug for Victory!’

Different recipes using ‘Potato Pete and Doctor Carrot’ were ingenious; the children loved the mystery ingredient jam tarts that Mrs FearnleyWhittingstall had cooked – which used carrots as their main ingredient!

Next, Mrs. Elton (Mrs Chester’s Mother) told the children about her experiences of being interned by the Japanese in Shanghai. This type of first-hand evidence adds a vital personal element to historical research; especially as she was the same age as the current Year 6s when the war finally ended. Imagining what it would be like to be in prison for three years without toys, books, school, medicines or any home comforts was very hard; four families living in a room smaller than our classroom was also very difficult to picture.

Finally, a number of other lessons supported our WWII theme.

In English the children wrote letters home describing their wartime evacuee experiences; in Geography the truly worldwide nature of the conflict was explored and in Music well-known songs from the era were sung. Everyone particularly liked ‘The Siegfried Line’ and ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’. Overall, the day was great fun and the children learnt a lot from the experience.

Braving Bikeability In the second half of this term, the Year 6 children were braving Bikeability on pavements, playgrounds and roads. They went out in the cold to perfect their cycling skills with the trainers, Paul and Jackie. They were going to do 2 of the 3 levels set by Wiltshire Council.

Level 1 consisted of stopping accurately, being able to do a complete bike check named the M check, signalling both left and right and snaking. Another check they had to carry through was the ABC check, A for air, B for brakes and C for chain. Everyone passed, demonstrating great control of their bikes.

Level 2 consisted of riding on a quiet road with mild traffic, U turns, overtaking a parked car, going round a mini roundabout, primary and secondary position, turning from a minor to a major road and crossing across a road. Everyone enjoyed the wonderful opportunity to gain more control on their bikes, they all had a wonderful time!

Written by Kirsten and Lucy

www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk New Look Homepage You may be aware that we have recently updated the homepage of our website.

The content remains much as before, but the new features and icons are designed to make navigation easier and more intuitive and we have ‘quick links’ for those areas of the website that are visited frequently such as ‘news’ and ‘this week’. Additionally, we are now on Twitter so we are able to provide you with up to the minute news via a live Twitter feed. If you follow us on Twitter (@StMargaretsPrep) you will be alerted when a new message is posted on the site.

You will also notice a ‘Parent Login’ icon. This area is not yet live but we are working on it currently and hope to give all our parents access in the near future. We will send you an email with access details and instructions as soon as we can.

Finally, you may recall that we filmed a video in school last year – this can now be viewed from the homepage of our website.

It provides a snapshot of a day at St Margaret’s and we hope you will agree that it encapsulates our friendly and vibrant atmosphere and, more importantly, our ‘can do’ attitude.

Singing Leaders This year St Margaret’s has decided to enter for the Platinum ‘Sing Up’ award. This is the highest award that schools can achieve and has needed a lot of preparation. We have discovered songs for everyday activities and focused on singing and performing. All the Year 6 children have been trained as Singing Leaders and enjoy leading songs on the playground and in choir. On National ‘Sing Up’ Day in 2012 we met up with Cherhill school. They taught us many songs which we use regularly to entertain both older and younger children. On ‘Sing Up’ Day this year, we were delighted to spend time with pupils from Cherhill again.

Our message is that ‘Everyone can sing!’

Written by Charlotte, Tommy and Hermione

Cross Country Success A team of Key Stage 2 children attended the annual Westonbirt Cross Country Tournament on a fresh winter’s day in February. This is a hotly contested competition with over 20 schools attending from all over the South of England. The event is always well supported and this year had more than 100 children in each age group competing - U8, U9, U10 and U11s. St Margaret’s is always well represented and this year was no exception, with some excellent individual performances across Key Stage 2. This year the Year 3 boys dominated the field of 50 runners in the U8 boys’ category and proved themselves worthy champions - they were justifiably proud to receive the winners trophy.

Whilst the most important factors are taking part in an event such as this and the determination to do as well as you possibly can, there were notable performances from Alex who came 1st in the U8 boys’ category, with Charlie close behind in 3rd place. Other strong performances came from Freddie, Kitty and Bella in the U8 boys’ and girls’ categories, Sarah and Jemima in the U9 girls and Polly in the U10 girls. We look forward to competing next year and defending our title!

St Margaret’s Preparatory School, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF Tel: 01249 857220 Fax: 01249 857227 Email: office@stmargaretsprep.org.uk Website: www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk