Pre-Prep Reflections Week 31 2024

Dear parents,

It was lovely to see so many Exeter Pre-Prep families at the Devon County Show last Saturday. Our Exeter School stand was buzzing all day and we were well prepared with pop-up fans, rain macs and snacks to keep the crowds going, come rain or shine. We have also been fortunate to inherit the dinky sofas and cushions for our library area! Today we have enjoyed having Mrs Smyth back in school to help Mrs Pike with the Forest School sessions.

Farewell, Mrs Furniss!

The time has come for us to say a fond farewell to Mrs Furniss who is retiring at the end of next week. All week, the children have been presenting her with hand-made cards, pictures, flowers and even a caterpillar cake! In assembly this morning, we presented her with a special gift for her garden. Thank you to all of you who were able to join us in the hall at the end of the day to wish her well with a glass of fizz and some delicious canapes.

Julie has been a much loved and valued member of our team over the past couple of years and I am incredibly grateful for her conscientious hard work and unwavering support. She is not quite ready to sail off into the sunset just yet, though, as she will be spending time in school over half term with Ms Andrea Jellard who is taking over the role of school administrator when we return to school. Mr Heath will take on the management of the school minibuses (and the bus phone) with additional drivers from the operations team at Exeter School.

Lovely Lunches

I have continued to enjoy having lunch with small groups of Nursery children in my office this week. It has been fantastic to hear some quieter characters taking part in conversation and talking so confidently and articulately, and all the children have eaten very well. Miss Sam Moore, our new lunchtime assistant, came into school on Tuesday and Wednesday this week to help with the lunch service and complete a handover with Mrs Furniss. She enjoyed meeting the children and has already started learning some names. Miss Moore, who is from Dawlish and has three children, will be working from 11.15am-1.15pm daily after half term alongside Mr Heath, which will enable the school office to be staffed over lunchtime.

Our lovely lunches have been provided by our fantastic catering team, which is managed by Ms Michelle Hendrick, who is leaving us after more than forty years of service on our catering team. Michelle joined us as a young chef and has worked her way up through the organisation to manage our catering services, something that she has done with flair, creativity and innovation. We are incredibly lucky to have such fantastic food every day at school. We will miss her very much and thank her for all she has done to keep us well fed with such delicious and nutritious food for so many decades. It is hard to imagine our kitchens without her. Best of luck for a long, healthy and happy retirement Michelle. Exeter Pre-Prep will not taste the same without you!

General Election

You will all be aware of the fact that the prime minister has called a general election for July 4. This will be a busy day at Exeter School – we have an open house in the morning for prospective parents at the senior school site, and also new pupil afternoon at all schools on that day. These will go ahead as planned. The governors, along with the leadership of the school will be tracking the outcomes of the election and any ongoing impact on us as an organisation. We will of course keep you updated when we have information to share with you.

In Service Training Day

Tomorrow is a staff INSET day for which the school will be closed. We will be heading over to Exeter School for training and meetings in the morning, then back to Exminster in the afternoon. Excitingly, we have hired the new cookery school at Westbank, where trained chef Mr Heath will be leading a cookery team building workshop for the staff team. I hear that seafood broth, soda bread and cheesecake are on the menu and hope my cooking skills are up to it!

I hope that the weather is glorious for half term and that you all have a restful break. We look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Monday 3 June for the second half of the summer term.