Important dates for your diaries:
Permission for absences
Please could all permissions for absences of
1 day or part of a day, including for
appointments, be directed for the Pre-Prep
If the absence is for longer than 1 day or
includes Upper School siblings, permission
should be sought from Mrs Goldsmith via
Mrs Blake - jenny.blake@winchester-
house.org.
All schools have a legal obligation to record
any absence, along with the reason, when
children miss any part of the normal school
day.
Hair
There is an expectation for both boys and
girls to have neat and tidy hair, cut in a short
(boys) smart style, avoiding long fringes
which make children very uncomfortable
when writing and reading. Hair below
shoulder length or in a style which hangs
over the face must be tied back using a blue
or navy blue band or scrunchy. Long hair
should be tied up off the back of the neck.
General Notices Please take time to read the bulletin published each week it does contain important pieces of Pre-Prep information
that mobile phones are not used within
the building.
Bikes and Scooters
We are keen to support children who
wish to come to school on their bikes
or scooters. We have installed a bike/
scooter rack just inside the pedestrian
gate and ask that they are left here for
the day as we do not have facilities
inside the school to store them. Please
do not scoot or cycle into the play-
ground.
Child illness
If you are in doubt about whether your
child should be in school, please refer
to the Fit for School policy which can
be found in the class handbooks. It
gives advice and will help you to
understand the School’s expectations
regarding when a child should not be in
school due to illness. You can also
contact Sister Wendy in the surgery at
school.
Towels for Years 1 &2
The navy School towel embroidered
with your child’s name has been
added to the uniform list ready for
swimming in our own pool next term.
Party Invites
We ask that party invites are not given
out to children in school or put into
children’s drawers.
Collection Policy
There is a new collection policy which
is included in your year group
handbook. Please familiarise yourself
with it. The necessary paperwork will
be sent out during the holidays.
Exercise books
Exercise books have been sent home.
We are required to keep some books
back in case of an inspection. If you
have not received your child’s, it will
be returned to you at the Michaelmas
Half Term.
Mobile Phones
In the interests of courtesy and our
children's safety, we politely request,
Day Date Event
Wednesday 6th September No Pre-Prep after school clubs this week except Mini Winnies Club
Thursday 7th September Early birds begins
Monday 11th September Pre-Prep after school clubs begin
Tuesday 19th September Coffee and Croissants for Pre-Prep Parents in the Forum
Monday 26th September Pre-Prep Harvest collection for Brackley Foodbank
Wednesday 27th September 2:00pm Years 1 & 2 visit to Juniper House
Friday 29th September 12:00 noon Exeat
Tuesday 10th October 10:30am -
11:45am
Nursery "Come and Play"
Wednesday 11th October TBC Year 2 Trip
Thursday 19th October No Pre-Prep After School clubs or Mini Winnies club. Mini Winnies Plus will supervise PP
pupils and younger siblings 4.30-6.30pm.
Thursday 19th October 4:30pm -
8:30pm
Pre-Prep Parents Evening
Friday 20th October 12 noon Half Term
Monday 6th November 9:00am Term starts
w/c 20th November
EYFS come and share your child's Learning Journey - times throughout the week to be
advised
Friday 24th November 11.30am Pre-Prep Come & share for Years 1&2
Friday 24th November 12 noon Exeat
Monday 3rd December No Pre-Prep After School Activities this week. Mini Winnies club continues
Thursday 7th December TBC Year 1 & 2 Pantomime trip
Friday 8th December Pre-Prep Christmas Performance Photos
Tuesday 12th December 2:30pm Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance in the School Hall
Wednesday 13th December 10:00am EYFS Christmas performance in the Forum followed by Craft Morning in PP
Wednesday 13th December 2:30pm Year 1 & 2 Christmas Performance in the School Hall
Thursday 14th December TBC EYFS Pantomime trip
Friday 15th December Father Christmas visits Pre-Prep
Friday 15th December 12:00 noon End of Term for Pre-Prep
Follow
@PrePrepWHS
to find out what we
are getting up to.
We also say a fond farewell to Mrs
Ashton who has been an inspiring
colleague and much loved
Teaching Assistant. She has
boundless energy and a nurturing
approach which will be sorely
missed. However we are excited
for her as she embarks on
retirement adventures together
with Mr Ashton who as well as our
gardener has been our minibus
driver, and helped us with all
manner of other things to organise
special things for the children.
Enjoy your retirements Mr and
Mrs Ashton but we hope to see
you again when we need a little
help!
Miss East leaves us after 12 years,
to embark on a new career in
accountancy. She has been a much
valued and integral part of life in
Pre-Prep, taking on a number of
different roles over the years and
been a big part of many children’s
lives. We wish you every success
for the future and please come
back and see us!
Pre-Prep would also like to
recognise the huge contribution
Mrs Marsh has made to us over
many years, both as Head and then
behind the scenes supporting and
leading on teaching and learning.
We wish you well as you move on
to further ventures and some well
deserved rest and relaxation!
All that remains is to say thank you
if you are leaving shoes behind(!),
do have a look over the Maths
presentation handout if you
haven’t already for activity ideas
over the holidays and thank you
for all your support. Have a won-
derful Summer!
The academic year may pass for
us in a blink of an eye, but our
children really have made the
most of every minute! Looking
through the previous Mini
Winnies for the year, the children
have had so many learning
opportunities and fun along the
way.
As we go to print, we can hear
delightful squeals of the children
having a splashing good time at
their water topic Fabulous
Finishes in paddling pools, water
slides and our outdoor pool. As
long as we exercise safety around
it, water really is great fun.
The General Election seems a
long while ago already. We held
an election of our own as
choosing the colour of the new
trikes for the playground was a
decision the staff did not feel
they could make alone.
Fortunately there wasn’t a hung
parliament when the vote was
held and ’Blue’ was the chosen
colour. We look forward to
taking delivery for the start of the
new year.
We have enjoyed our after
school activities this term. The
Wild About Art group learnt
new techniques and skills based
on famous artists to produce
some sensational pieces of work.
It’s been a tasty term on a
Thursday afternoon in Fun with
Food. Our mouths have been
watering with all the lovely
smells from the kitchen. The
children took responsibility for
all aspects of the cooking
process, including preparation,
food hygiene and tidying away.
Obviously, eating their creations
was the highlight - especially
when they made ice cream!
This has been a wonderful term
of welcoming people to our Pre-
Prep family. Congratulations to:
Mr and Mrs Angus on the birth
of Freya, Mr and Mrs Patey on
the birth of Edward and William,
Mr and Mrs Pyper on the birth
of Toby and Mr and Mrs
Godber on the birth of Isla.
We also have some farewells.
Our Gap students have been a
real asset to us with their keen
and nurturing interest in our
children. We will miss Mr Ward,
Miss Hammond, Mr Wood and
Miss Wilford, but wish them well
in their next chapter.
Mini Winnies
Issue 2016-2017 #9
Date July 2017
P A G E 1
Moving on...
The Year 2 children have spent time this Half
Term exploring the Upper School. They
have visited the Chapel, Sister Wendy in the
San, the changing rooms and also had a
buddy read with children in Seligman.
The Moving on Ceremony was a wonderful
tribute to all that Year 2 have achieved in
their Pre-Prep journey. We wish them all
every success as they move in to Year 3. For Abigail, Alex, Eoin, Joseph and Kiran,
this will mean a new school. We are going to miss you all very much, but wish you
well and hope you will keep in touch!
Tales from the River Bank
In Year 1 this term, we made new friends in Ratty, Mole and the delightfully
mischievous Mr Toad. The Wind in the Willows inspired us to write some wonderful
kennings about the characters. Along with Year 2, we
had a wonderful day at Stoke Bruerne and got to
operate a lock. We wrapped up the term with a
banquet fit for a toad in the Secret Garden.
You may like to know that there is a production of The
Wind in the Willows currently running at the Palladium
Theatre in London. More details are at thewind-
inthewillowsthemusical.com
P A G E 2
Splish, Splash, Splosh! After reading The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch the Nursery children spent a glorious
day in the Secret Garden with Mr Silman thinking about how they could
transport a lunch, a bucket of water and even Mrs Goldsmith (using a model in
her place). They had a great time using pulleys and ropes to move the items around.
All the Early Years children had a fantastic finish to their topic with their paddling pool fun
Water Day.
P A G E 3
Sports Day 2017 We had wonderful feedback abut our ‘new feel’ Sports
Day. There was a buzz of real enjoyment on either
side of the track and the picnic lunch
afterwards was a real celebration of the
children’s sporting achievements, in every sense
of that word. Thanks to Mrs Corthine and Mrs
Dawes for taking the photos for us.
