Junior Reflections Week 3 September 2024
Dear parents,
Enjoy the sunshine
We have been enjoying the beautiful Autumnal sunshine this week with drama lessons and clubs taking place outdoors. These moments of seasonal change bring a sense of renewal and excitement, much like the energy and enthusiasm we see in our pupils as they settle into the new school term.
The joy of reading
A big thank you to our wonderful new team of librarians who have presented the Exeter Junior School reading system to each form. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! At Exeter Junior School, the love of reading is palpable among both staff and pupils. We subscribe to the School Library Service, offering a rotating stock of new books and topic boxes in the library and class ‘book bubbles’. Pupils can visit these areas during form times, break times, and English lessons to change their reading books. Our pupils are encouraged to read at home for 20 minutes daily and bring their reading book to school every day, with a named bookmark. Books from home are welcome in addition to our own book stock; teachers will guide reading choices. Your child’s organiser includes a reading record to log book titles and dates, with merits awarded for completed books. We celebrate the joy of reading and good book choices, inviting pupils to write reviews or create book vlogs. I would like to extend my thanks to the regular reading volunteers that come into school to hear readers as well as a number of senior school pupils who offer community service to the junior school and aid our developing readers.
Enrichment clubs
Our enrichment clubs are now fully launched and in full flow, with the exciting addition of our new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) club. I was pleased to pop in and see our new club in action. BJJ is a self-defence martial art and sport, similar to Judo, but without striking like in karate or boxing. Instead, practitioners use wrestling, positional control, and submission holds to defend themselves. Our external provider, James Wood, is a qualified head coach with a purple belt, ensuring our students receive top-notch instruction. We are very proud of all our enrichment activities delivered across lunch times and after school and it is wonderful to see the pupils embracing them with smiles on their faces.
House captains
During Monday’s assembly, the pupils were delighted to hear the announcement of our newly appointed house captains. Congratulations to Rosanna, Barnaby, Krithik, Marietta, Rupert, Mabel, Connor, and Vally, who will excel as leaders within their houses. We were very impressed by all the Upper Two pupils who gave speeches and put themselves forward for house captain roles. We look forward to seeing them all shine in their unique ways, whether as house captains, form captains, sports captains, monitors, or buddies, at the top end of the junior school.
Whole school photograph
On Tuesday, we will be having our whole school photograph taken, which happens only once every four years or so. We kindly ask all pupils to arrive in full uniform, looking their best and most presentable. Normally, the lower school wears PE kit on Tuesdays but for this special occasion, we request that all pupils come in their regular uniform. Form One will not have PE this Tuesday, while Upper One should bring their PE kit in a bag for their lesson after break time. We look forward to seeing everyone’s beautiful smiles and smartly dressed pupils ready for the school photo on Tuesday.
Residential
As you read this newsletter, our Lower Two children are currently enjoying their first residential trip to PGL and we have news from the camp that they are having a splendid time! We wish Mrs Van a wonderful and productive few days attending her Head Teacher Conference in Wales and look forward to having her and all the Lower Two pupils back with us on Monday.
We wish you all wonderful weekends with your families.
