Pre-Prep Reflections Week 29 2024
Dear parents,
At long last, we have been able to enjoy some gorgeous weather, and after a sunny bank holiday weekend as well! It is wonderful to see the blossom on the trees and the children spending more time learning outside. This morning in Nursery we made a bus and went to London! At playtimes, children have been busy making daisy chains, reading books on picnic blankets and checking on all manner of seeds and plants that they have been growing.
Remarkable reading
This week, we have had some staff illness and so I have had the pleasure of hearing quite a few children read in the mornings. It is amazing to see the progress that the Nursery and Reception children are making and how proud they are of their reading skills. I know that junior school Head, Mrs Van, and Bursar, Mr MacEacharn, are equally impressed by the standard of reading and comprehension in Years 1 and 2 after hearing them read regularly. Our thanks go to Mrs Parry, a former parent, who donated a batch of reading books to the school this week that her daughter Amelie, now in Year 4, has grown out of. These will certainly help to continue promoting a love of reading across the school.
Assemblies
On Tuesday, Katie Elliott from Westbank visited with her giant cheque, revealing the grand total raised by our sponsored marathon fun run. She thanked the children for their amazing efforts and talked to them about how the money would be used to help good causes. She also said that it was the largest amount ever raised for the charity. Yesterday, we looked at three nurses from history, ahead of International Nurses’ Day this Sunday. The Year 1 children shared lots of super knowledge about Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and Edith Cavell from their history lessons.
Exeter School open evening
It was great to see some of you at the Exeter School open evening last night. Ruffles tagged along with me to the pre-prep stand and there was lots of interest in the school – and the dog! Our next big event will be the Devon County Show, which takes place on 16-18 May. Ruffles and I will be on the Exeter School stand (Stand 26, Avenue A) on Saturday 18 May, so do come along and say hello if you are going to be there.
Welcome Chef Graeme
Today we had a visit from the new catering manager at Exeter School who takes over from Michelle Hendrick (after 42 years in the role!) at half term. Chef Graeme helped serve lunch and then spent time chatting to the children about the food and what changes they might like to see. We look forward to welcoming him back again soon.
Next week
We are holding our final open morning of the year for prospective families on Thursday. This is a ‘school in action’ morning and the children do not need to do anything differently. Hopefully the sun will shine and our visitors will enjoy their tours.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for more beautiful weather this weekend and, if you are a fan like me, enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest!
