Prep Newsletter Friday 13th February

2015

Dear Parents,

“Love is in the air, everywhere I look around.” Well, we may not be in

love, but certainly we care for each other. Team work has been evident

this week in each class and in the playground with children using a

variety of

This week has been Internet Safety Week and the

children have taken part in discussions and activities

designed to encourage them to be safe and take

responsibility for their safety online. Various

assemblies throughout the week have encouraged the

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skills to work together to achieve a common goal. Just taking a look

through this week‟s Newsletter is evidence of all of the hard work (and

fun) in school. Teamwork is not just a skill for school, but a skill for life

and hopefully our messages of ‘Treat others as you would wish to be

treated.’ and „„If you can’t say anything nice, don't say it at all.’ are

remembered and practised outside of school too.

children to do good online to create a

better internet together. PCSO Esther

Ainsley visited us to talk about internet

safety and also had the added pleasure of

helping us reunite Lily the dog with her

owner. We reminded ourselves that the

internet can be incredibly useful as we can

use it to shop, pay bills, play games,

research information, be creative to make

blogs, music or films and socialise. How

much time do we spend online? What

would we do if we turned the internet or

computer off? What would life be like

without the internet?

In a recent BBC Learning poll commissioned as part of the online safety

campaign „Be Smart‟, the statistics have been staggering. I am aware

that they polled 11 - 16 year olds, but it doesn‟t hurt to be aware,

especially as when talking to some of our girls some had had similar

(worrying) experiences:

57% said that had done something risky or anti-social online.

62% said they had felt under pressure to act in this way by sharing films

or pictures, saying mean things or knowingly looking at unsuitable

websites.

20% said they had pressurised others to act negatively online.

47% said they had looked at something online they thought their parents

would not like them to see.

14% had sent pictures that their parents would not like them to share.

Nearly 10% had signed up to

websites or services for

adults.

72% of 14 - 16 year olds had

experienced or witnessed

online bullying.

(Information from BBC News

- education - 10.02.15)

The internet can be so

useful, make life easier and

be a positive experience, but

occasionally what we see

online can be upsetting or

hurtful. If we know what the

problem is we can try to put

it right. Practical advice is

important:

A challenge was given to the children in the Upper Prep for the week to

think of, then put into practice digital good deeds to help the internet be

a safer place for everyone. The children knew about reporting mean

comments and bad pictures to an adult and knew of the reporting

button, but would they do this? Are their privacy settings set high

enough? Has an app been installed to track what your child is accessing

online? Children are concerned about using the internet, as evidenced

in the web chat on http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/safer-internet-2015-

dixi-chat. Whatever we do online, are we making it a safe place for

everyone? Also are we, as parents, keeping the lines of communication

with our children open and talking about internet usage?

Year 2 The Y2 fashion show was delightful to

watch as the girls had prepared

speeches about fashion in the 1960‟s,

1970‟s and 1980‟s. The catwalk models

were beautifully dressed and reminded

the adults of their youth!

Today Year 2 have enjoyed tuckiung

into pancakes whilst thinking about

Shrove Tuesday.

This week… It was good to see so many Year 5 parents join us for a tour and a talk

about St Margaret‟s Senior School with our Marketing Department, Mrs

Hardy and myself. All of our girls have automatic entry into Year 7. It was

good to hear how all of the girls are prepared for life „on the other side of

the road‟ and about the increasing links and the smooth transition

between Year 6 and 7. The staff work well together aiming for each of

our girls to continue to feel comfortable, knowing their friends, the staff,

the older pupils and the school environment. Inevitably this helps to

ensure that they are ready to continue their academic learning and do

not have to spend time and emotions learning about these aspects. Mrs

Hardy reiterated that every girl is very well looked after academically and

personally and that they continue to be treated as individuals, whilst

being encouraged to challenge themselves to ensure that each achieves

her potential and is prepared for life beyond St Margaret‟s School.

The Valentine‟s Party and Disco were very popular last night and the girls

obviously delighted in dressing up for the occasion making their moves

and singing. A lot of fun was had by all. A special thanks to all the staff

who as a team ensured the evening was a great success. Thank you too

to our Head and Deputy Head Girls, Amita and Caitlin, for the vote of

thanks and the cheers.

Week beginning 23rd February… Next week is half term and when we return we will continue to be

excitingly busy. Today you will have received a paper copy of your

Mufti Day today has also been a resounding success with the girls

dressing up in their home clothes to raise money for Comic Relief.

Everyone looked amazing! We loved the girls wearing their red noses and

deely-boppers. Thank you for your very generous donations (some more

than our suggested amount). In the Prep School for Comic

Relief we raised a wonderful £306. A special mention must

be made to Miss King and Mrs Jolley who delighted all of

the Lower Prep dressed as Elsa and Anna from „Frozen‟.

What a way to capture the girl‟s hearts and imaginations!

daughter‟s spellings for the Sponsored Spell. A letter

giving further details has been emailed to you today.

During half term please would you mind helping your

daughter to learn her spellings and to collect

sponsors. In the week beginning 27.02.15 your

daughter will be tested on her spellings. The highest

scorers in each House in each class will go through

to the semi-final of the Upper Prep Spelling Bee.

From this we will have 4 Spelling Bee finalists, one

from each House. The Spelling Bee final will be on

Thursday 5th March and will only use the words that

the finalist has learned for the sponsored spell.

On Tuesday 24th February Year 3 are off to Verulamium to learn more

and consolidate their learning about the Romans. An exciting day is in

store!

On Thursday 26th February 9.30am - 12 noon it is our School At Work

Morning for prospective parents. If you would like to tour a part of the

school you have not previously seen, please join us to speak with some

of our current girls and see lessons in action. All of our Prep School girls

have automatic entry into Year 3 then into Year 7 and we do expect pupils

to continue through St Margaret‟s School. Over refreshments there will

be an opportunity to speak with some senior members of staff. If you are

interested in attending, please start in either the Prep School Hall (Upper

Prep) or in the Senior School, whichever you would like to have a tour of.

Week beginning 2nd March… The following week is World Book Week and we will

be celebrating this by talking more than we usually

do about books and authors. At the end of the week

(Friday 6th) we will be inviting all Prep School

Another exciting event during this week is the Prep School

Soiree for all children in Year 2 - 6. During the concert on

Tuesday 3rd March we will be treated to the Year 2 violins,

a variety of soloists, Speech and Drama plays as well as

our Prep School Choir and Orchestra. Last year was the

first of such an event and was amazing. This year I am

planning for it to be bigger and better (if this is possible!).

You will have received a paper letter if your daughter has

been invited to be a soloist, or an email in she is in Year 2,

the choir or the orchestra. Those children who would like

to have performed a solo but have not been invited this

time are invited to perform in assembly and/or the next

lunchtime concert.

children to come into school dressed as their favourite book character.

This was such a success last year and the children rose to the occasion

with their fantastic outfits. Please do not feel that you should buy a

costume. If you need inspiration please visit:

http://www.netmums.com/activities/fun-at-home/dressing-up-ideas

Spring Soiree

Mrs C Aisthorpe

Head of St. Margaret’s Preparatory School

Commendation

CONGRATULATIONS TO…

Amisha – Y5 Anjali – Y5

Arabella – Y5 Aryana – Y5 Camille – Y5 Chuwen – Y4 Kamand –Y5

Katie – Y5 Maya – Y3 Mia – Y5

Certificate

CONGRATULATIONS to…

Kaiyana – Y3 Karisma – Y4

Priya – Y3 Shriya – Y3

Later on in the term… There will be visits out of school for Year 4, 5 and 6. Years 4 and 5 will

have received emails today. Year 6 we will email you details of the visit

to RAF Hendon after half term. LAMDA Speech and Drama exams take

place towards the end of term and I hope that the girls are practising at

home, as per their teacher‟s instructions and then on 25th March we

invite you to „Our Special People‟ Assembly - again more about this

nearer the time.

My goodness, what a busy half term we have had and what an even

busier one at the end of February and all of March. Your daughter

certainly has incredibly intense days learning, but also has a multitude

of opportunities too! However, before all of this excitement, I would like

to wish you all a very happy half term holiday.

February

13th 3.30/4.00 Half-term begins

23rd Term resumes

23rd-27th

Sponsored Spelling Week

24th Y3 Visit to Verulamium Museum

26th 09:30-12:00 School at Work Open Morning

March

2nd-6th

World Book Week

3rd 17:00-18:00 Prep School Spring Soiree

6th Book Character Fancy Dress Day – come to school dressed as your favourite character

9th Year 5 Victorian Day

10th 16:00-19:00 Upper Prep Parent/Teacher Consultation Evening

11th 16:00-19:00 Lower Prep Parent/Teacher Consultation Evening

12th Year 4 visit to Science Museum

13th Years 5 & 6 – visiting author, Caroline Lawrence

16th Year 6 visit to RAF Hendon

18th-20th

LAMDA exams

25th 09:00-09:45 Prep School – “Our Special People” Assembly, Senior School Hall

27th 14:00 Term Ends

Dates

020 8416 4501 prepoffice@smbushey.com

Reception

This week Mrs

Hilton has been

teaching us how to

sew a running

stitch. We all had

so much fun! Thank

you Mrs Hilton.

Miss King

Year 1

The girls had the most magical time decorating their

gingerbread. They were allowed to choose 10 sweets to

adorn their tree or lady and we used edible glue in the

form of icing to fix the sweets in place. They also used

icing pens to create faces. It was a such a

worthwhile activity incorporating Maths, Geography,

History, Art and English with a huge amount of fun.

Mrs Jolley

Year 2

Miss Pares

Year 2 have been

strutting their stuff on

the catwalk this week,

modelling fashions from

the 1960's, 1970's and

1980's. After completing

projects on one of these

decades they found out

what the fashion of the

day was and who

influenced it. The girls

had great fun dressing

the model for their group

and writing their cat walk

talk. We also found out

what Mrs Jolley, Mrs

Aisthorpe and Miss King

wore when they were

young!

In the last week the girls have done lots of interesting

things. They have drawn graphs and extracted data and

information from graphs of many different types, they have

written promises about how they intend to help the

environment and try to minimise pollution, they have learnt

about food and feasting in Roman times, what it was like to

live as a shepherd at the time that Jesus was alive, done

Comprehension and Grammar, learnt about the U.K. and

investigated a key on a map, made posters highlighting the

need for the safe use of medicine in I.C.T., created a still

life picture in the Cubist style, practised tables, learnt

spellings and many other things besides!

Mrs Franklin

Year 3

Maybe you can spend a

moment thinking about

our thunk for this

week…

Is a zebra black with

white stripes or

white with black

stripes?

Happy half term!

Busy times in Year 3

It has been another busy week in Year

3. There is always so much to do and

so many exciting things to learn about

and to share.

“As soon as the music began, I

immediately started dancing and didn‟t stop all evening!”

Bryony

Upper Prep Valentine’s Disco

“It was lots of fun when Miss Caher

started dancing and taught us new

dances like the „Big box, little box‟ dance and the „Sprinkler‟!”

Ruby

“I felt elated when Katy Perry‟s „Firework‟ came on and everyone started jumping in time with the music.” Aryana

“I had a fantastic time and particular enjoyed the competitions where we got to win prizes for good dancing and knowing the names songs and singers.” Angel

“The disco was

extraordinary with all the

lights reflecting on everyone‟s beautiful

party outfits.” Camille

“My favourite part was when the

song „Wiggle‟ came on

because we all knew the words and

started singing along.”

Marina