Phoenix Flier 657 Friday 18th December 2020

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A message from Mr Sawyer

The Phoenix Flier

Issue 657 Friday 18th December 2020

The Yarm Preparatory School Newsletter

A s I write my final newsletter for this calendar year, I can hear the sound of bells ringing and see smiling faces charging around the Astro. Our pupils and staff are completing the Run to Lapland challenge with the final mile being registered as the Rudolph Run which is raising funds for Teesside Hospice. It is another example of the compassion, resilience and endeavour of our school

community, qualities that we have seen throughout the turbulence of 2020. I must commend the boys and girls for their ability to adapt in the last nine months, they have done so with such good spirit. One hopes there won’t be another year like this one in terms of disruption. We don’t know what the future holds, but we can be confident that our boys and girls will continue to develop key skills that will help them in school and beyond. We are committed to helping them develop problem solving skills, collaborate widely, show kindness, display resourcefulness and find the grit to tackle the obstacles they face.

As we part for the well-deserved holidays, my sincere thanks go to all of the teaching and support staff for their dedication and commitment once again this term. I am also indebted to my wife and family for their unswerving love and warmth. Finally, I wish every member of our community a safe and enjoyable Christmas period and a prosperous, healthy New Year. Thank you all for your loyal support of the School. I look forward to seeing you all in 2021.

Bill Sawyer

Head’s Challenge: If it takes five elves, five minutes to make five dolls, then how long will it take 100 elves to make 100 dolls?

Watch our Christmas performances

online!

Prep School Carol

Service:

https://youtu.be/

v0y8l2C8TQg

Year 3: https://youtu.be/lNHSApRNeEI

Nursery: https://youtu.be/LvgwTRbRLfQ

Reception: https://youtu.be/wyye0kVyXsM

Year 1: https://youtu.be/GLKttMJXxP4

Year 2: https://youtu.be/r-12DF79lU0

Photo of the Week: Thank you everyone for your

generous contributions

during our ‘Week of Thanks’.

Our 4J Form Captains show

the collection brought

together by their class for

Little Sprouts and Billingham

and Stockton Foodbank.

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I loved being Santa. The play was really fun and Christmassy! Harry H.

We thought it was so much fun. We got to dress up as fairies and we enjoyed telling the story of Christmas.

Trisha K. and Anwita D.

Photos from the Year 3 Christmas Performance, which took place last week and is shared with you all!

Year 3

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Year 4

4P had their own Christingle this week!

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Me!

I am tough,

I like stuff….

Could be great,

Hi ya mate!

One of four,

The youngest (I KNOW!)

Sometimes sneaky,

Never cheeky.

I like baking,

Don’t like raking.

I love pizza,

I won’t tease ya,

Better at reading,

(I’m not misleading).

Piano is my passion,

I eat a whole ration.

Could I go into space

To see another race?

Baby Yoda is ace

Hope Mando keeps him safe

I Switch it up with Fortnite

I’m ready for the big FIGHT!!

I’ve cycled to the beach,

It was nearly out of reach.

Breakfast at Stray Cafe

Took my aches and pains away.

Tiger is my name,

(tame).

Tiger C.

I am Different

I like being different,

And totally unique,

My differences make me happy,

Dancing around the living room is something I like to do,

I would like to be a child forever so I could play and have fun,

Football is a hobby even though I am a girl,

Feelings can be hurt when you’re different,

Everybody has their differences,

Remember to be kind,

Even when you don’t understand,

No two people are the same,

Treat everyone kindly, our differences make us special.

Louisa P.

4P have also been writing poetry about themselves.

Meanwhile in 4N, the children made a chain of gratitude to decorate our classroom! We filled it with people, places, things

and memories we are grateful for and hung it up to remind ourselves.

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Individual Music Lessons

Individual instrumental and vocal lessons continue to be

available. Some Visiting Music Teachers have immediate

vacancies, whilst others have waiting lists. Should you wish to

request lessons, please do so via this form by clicking here.

Mr Gooding

Rockschool Exam Results

Congratulations to the following students for their fantastic

Rockschool exam results. Thank you for putting in the hard

work required. Well done.

Ava Holmes—Grade 1—Distinction

Matthew Robson—Debut—Merit

Fenwick Mitchell—Debut—Distinction

Mr Halford

Year 5

5W have been making their flood proof houses to ‘Beat the Flood!’. They have designed a detailed plan, built the house and

now the only thing left to do is survive the mighty flood from Storm Hose Pipe.

Music Roundup

Car park

During an assembly last week, all of the children were given

the opportunity to visit the site of our car park, just before the

works begin.

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We received a very exciting email last week from

Century, informing us about the results of the

Century Winter Cup. The competition included

schools from all over the world and had a range of

categories, depending on the size of the school.

For four weeks, Century tracked which schools

answered the highest number of nugget questions

during this period.

In the final week, Yarm School answered over

16,000 questions. Congrats!

With a grand total of over 58,000 questions answered, our

final overall ranking was 1st in our group, a brilliant effort!

You are the champions!

The exciting news has been shared with the children and each

form was awarded a certificate to celebrate the thousands of

questions they have completed during the Winter Cup. Well

done to all the children for using Century to support their

learning at home and in school! We look forward to receiving

our trophy very soon!

Mrs Pawluk

Christmas Tech

ThinkUKnow have produced an

excellent parent’s guide to

children ‘being social’ on their

phones and tablets. With

Christmas being a time when some

children will be getting new devices, we recommend parents

read this guide by clicking here.

Thank You

Little Sprouts were over the moon to receive all of the

hampers this week. Thank you so much for helping to put

these together, they really will make such a difference.

Cheryl from Little Sprouts wanted to send an extra special

thank you for the beautifully decorated boxes and cards

from the

children.

There was

also a

sizeable

collection of

goods that

will go to the

Billingham

and Stockton

Foodbank

this week

too.

Miss Darbar

Century

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It has been a fun-filled last couple of weeks in the PE

department. We have loved the efforts the children,

parents and staff have put into our 'Run to Lapland'

challenge which was completed yesterday with our entire

school participating in the Reindeer Run. The ambitious

challenge was never in doubt and it is a fabulous achievement

to run 2247 miles in just under 3 weeks. Some children ran in

excess of 4 miles in each PE lesson (which is very good

going!) and by week 3 we had all in Years 5 and 6 running/

walking 3 miles! It has been fantastic to see the pupils trying

to beat each class total and really throw themselves into the

challenge. Well done everyone.

In games lessons we have finished

the term with various house events,

starting with a mixed Year 4 hockey

event last Thursday. This was

followed by house netball for Year 5

and house hockey for Year 6, as well

as house rugby for our boys in Years

5 and 6 on Friday afternoon.

The results can be seen below.

It is great to see that all houses enjoyed some success and one

house has not dominated the events. What a wonderful way

to finish this term. Happy Christmas to all and see you all in

the New Year.

Mrs Redhead-Sweeney and Mr Simpson

PE and Games News

House Competitions—Autumn 2020

Sport 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

Y4 Hockey Telford Brunel Arkwright Stephenson

Y5 Netball Arkwright Telford Stephenson Brunel

Y5 Rugby Arkwright Stephenson Telford Brunel

Y6 Hockey Telford Stephenson Brunel Arkwright

Y6 Rugby Stephenson Telford Arkwright Brunel

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After School Care

If you need to make any late changes to your after school

arrangements, please contact Miss Richardson or Miss Algate.

Mr Stone

Headphones

Please could children bring in a pair of headphones or

earphones. These are to remain in drawers and be used when

children are working on particular activities on Chromebooks.

Mr Stone

Yarm School has recently become part of Parent Zone’s Digital

Schools Membership programme, recognising our

commitment to keeping our pupils safer online and making

sure we work with you to achieve this.

Our Digital Schools membership gives you FREE access to

Parent Zone’s Parent Lounge with:

Online training;

Expert advice and information on all things

digital;

Access to a free help service for all of your tech

questions.

To get started, go to: https://parentzone.org.uk/parents/

discover-parent-lounge

Click on ENTER PARENT LOUNGE

Click on the pink ADD TO CART button

On the next page click CHECKOUT. You’ll be

asked to enter your email address.

On the next page you will need to enter the coupon code

YarmSchool to ensure you have free access. Please click ADD

COUPON once the code has been entered. The code gives you

a 100% discount.

I cannot recommend the Parent Zone service highly enough. In

this day and age, when we are teaching the children how to be

good online citizens and how to stay safe online, it is

imperative that parents are in the loop too. Parent Zone offers

this support.

Mr Stone

We held our values and endeavour certificate assemblies last

Friday. Our congratulations to all of the children who have

received an award!

Reminders

Key Dates

No Christmas Holiday School.

Mon 4/1 Spring Term begins

After School Care as usual

Wed 6/1 House General Knowledge Quiz

Mon 11/1 Prep clubs begin for the term

Thu 14/1 Internal entrance exams (conclude 15/1)

Mon 18/1 4N Egyptian Morning

Tue 19/1 4J Egyptian Morning

4P Egyptian Afternoon

Thu 28/1 Year 5 National Schools Quiz heat (online)

Mon 1/2 Activities Carousel 4 begins for Year 4

Thu 4/2 Year 3 National Schools Quiz heat (online)

The answer to the Head’s Challenge from last time was: It was a Grandmother (who is a moth-

er), mother (who is a mother and a daughter) and daughter who went out for dinner.

Parent Curriculum Information Site

http://bit.ly/yarmprepparents

The new parent curriculum information site will contain

overviews and guidance booklets for English and

mathematics, in addition to other links and curriculum

details. It will be updated regularly so do keep checking

back!

Awards and Celebrations Assemblies

Form Values Endeavour

3A Niall E. Joseph A.

3C Sylvia D. Amelia C.

3D Aphelia S. Vedh A.

4J Lucy W. Harriet B.

4N Wilf S. Dorothy W.

4P Navina M. Darcey-Rue R.

5B Charlotte F. Namitha N.

5P Monica P-H. Thomas P.

5W Charlie E. Ben P.

6G Rosie W. Tabitha L.

6H Alfie A. Noah C.

6L Ava H. Laurie E.

Parent Zone—Free for parents!