Prep Newsletter Friday

18th March 2016

Assemblies

This week the Upper Prep assembly on Monday was taken by the Reverend Farrar, a local Methodist minister, who spoke to the girls about Abigail, an inspirational, intelligent and brave lady from the Old Testament who used her initiative and diplomacy skills to humbly offer David a peace offering following a problem caused by another person. By doing this Abigail’s quick actions saved her household from disaster, and kept David and his men from unnecessary bloodshed. We can all learn from Abigail. Then on Thursday our Lower Prep had a visit from Tricia from the Watford Schools Trust to tell the Easter Story.

If you would like to come into speak to the girls in assembly about your faith, culture, a hobby or your profession, please let me know as it is so important that all the girls learn about the world around them.

This week we welcome Mrs Carney as our new Preparatory School Secretary. She is gradually getting to know all of the girls, parents and staff, as well as our school procedures.

LAMDA Exams

Yesterday and today all Speech and Drama pupils have been taking their LAMDA exam. There has been a sense of excitement mixed with nerves. However every girl knows that all her practice will have paid off and I am certain that each will have performed with confidence and clarity. Exam results will be with us next term and as soon as we know them we will let you know.

Next Week

Parents Evening (Tuesday). This is an opportunity for you to meet with your daughter’s Class Teacher (and subject specialist teacher if you have a daughter in Upper Prep) to discuss her progress and next steps in her learning. This is the first time we are holding both the Lower and Upper Prep Parents’ Evenings on the same night and I hope that this is a better arrangement for those of you who have daughters in both areas of the school. To save your legs, please use the path through the garden to walk between the Lower and Upper Prep (rather than go the long way round via the car park). Refreshments will be available in the Upper and Lower Prep Halls. Supervised Study (Years 3-6) and Science Club (Years 3-6) will continue as usual. There will be no Zumba as the last session was on Tuesday 15th.

Mufti Day

The School Council decided that they wanted a day when they could come to school dressed in the clothes suited to the career they would like to have when they are an adult. Therefore I have heard that next Thursday we will have a variety of doctors, teachers, lawyers, princesses and pop stars (!) in school. Please do not buy an outfit especially for the day and please ensure that the outfit is suited to a learning environment and appropriate for the weather i.e. sensible footwear and a sensible length of dress. Donations of a minimum of £2 will go to each of the House charities.

HOUSE CHARITIES

SOUTHWARK House Captains: Arabella and Aryana

ST JOHN’S House Captains: Mia and Marina

WATERHOUSE House Captains: Camille and Ruby

WINSOR House Captains: Anjali and Nikita

Congratulations

Roma

Reception

Achieved Seal 4 Swimming Certificate

Isabella Yr1

Achieved ASA Learn to Swim

stage 5

Isabella Yr2

Achieved her

15 meter

Certificate

Mrs C Aisthorpe Head of St. Margaret’s Preparatory School

Lower Prep Stars of the week

Reception Roma

Year 1 Evie

Year 2 Kishi

Afrah Yr5 has achieved her ABRSM Grade 1 Violin with Merit

Scarlet (Y3) played for the Hertfordshire Under 9s on Saturday at the southern semi-final of the National Chess Championship, and was the only girl on the scoring board, She had her two biggest wins to date, including a late last round win against last year’s national champions. Hertfordshire qualified by half a point and will now progress to the National Final in May.

Scarlett received a certificate for her amazing efforts.

Z

Zienna Y3 60

Commendations

20 Commendations

Amaya (Y3)

Afrah (Y5)

Dates

March No Swimming Club, Netball Club or Zumba 22nd 15:30-

20:00 Rec – Year 6 - Parents’ Evening Science Club 16:05-17:05

23rd Lower Prep Environmental Day

24th

Prep School Mufti Day - £2 “Career Mufti Day” What profession would you like to be in when you are an adult? Come to school dressed for this job. Chess Club Y1 +Y2 15:35 – 16:15 Y3 – Y6 16:15 – 17:15 Ballet as usual

24th 14:00 Term Ends - No Ballet - After School Club

April 12th Summer Term begins

Prep Office 08:00 – 13:30 020 8416 4501

prepsec@stmargarets.herts.sch.uk

End of term

School finishes at 14:00 on Thursday. There is no After School Club on this day.

Reception

This week Reception Class had a special ‘Road Safety’

Week. We learnt how to cross the road safely and practised on our very own

miniature Road

Then we wrote instructions on how

to cross the road safely and did a

traffic survey using a tally Chart.

Year

1

We have been learning about working in a

hospital during war time.

It is very muddy and wet

here.

I have decided that I am going

to make changes to this

situation.

Year 2

Year 2 have been learning about what it is like to live on a remote Scottish Island.

This week we wrote directions for a treasure hunt around the Isle of Struay where Katy Morag lives.

Year 3

How wonderful to see the sunshine.

Spring is nearly here! Year 3 have been working hard to colour their spring pictures very carefully. These will be stuck onto their woven mats and will make lovely Easter mats to take home and treasure.

Meanwhile we have been thinking about William Shakespeare and his wonderful plays. It is Shakespeare week and with Year 4 we had a live tour of his house in Stratford. It was very exciting.

On Wednesday Year 4 had a brilliant trip to Clay Lane Water Treatment Works. We felt honoured to be allowed on a guided tour of this high security centre as the general public are not allowed in! We were taken to see where all the dirty water arrives and to watch how it is cleaned in an ozonator before passing through huge filter beds. To enable the understanding of this very complex process the girls took part in a role play, acting out how oxygen is converted into ozone with the help of electricity.

Year 4

After a tasty packed lunch and playtime in the lovely grounds the girls carried out a variety of experiments in small groups. They had to use gravel, sand and Granular Activated Carbon as filters to try and clean a jug of very dirty water and then they carried out a fair test on some different materials to find out which should NOT be flushed down the toilet. They also learnt about water conservation – ask your girls how much water could be saved if we all turned off our taps whilst cleaning our teeth!

The staff at the centre commented on the knowledge and the good behaviour of the girls and our staff were very proud of them!

Mrs. Walsgrove

Year 5 Lots of girls

have done their LAMDA exams

this week.

In Year 5 girls acted out

scenes from ‘Oliver’ and ‘The lion the witch and the

wardrobe’

Sara played the part of a school girl with a group of Year 6 girls

We are looking forward to their results in a few weeks time. There is so much talent in Year 5 !

All the girls have been busy rehearsing their parts and perfecting their roles.

Although the girls were nervous they really looked the part in their costumes and the performances all went well.

As always our Year 6 girls have been extremely busy!

In Art the girls have begun their new topic where they are required to research British designers. Their first focus is on homeware, with many unsurprisingly choosing Cath Kidston as their focus designer.

The whole class has been enjoying their rehearsals for our upcoming production Alice in Wonderland. We have been particularly impressed with how quickly the girls have learned their lines.

In Design Technology the girls began bringing their designs to life and have noted the relaxing effects of sewing lessons.

In Food Technology the girls learned how to prepare a healthy pasta salad; all of which was enjoyed in their homes that evening. They learned that by using raw vegetables, they enhanced the nutritional value of the food.

In Mandarin they used special pens and stamps to draw Chinese symbols using calligraphy.