SNAPSHOT It’s who we are.
PREP SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ACADEMIC YEAR 2019 /2020
STEXTCHOOL LIFE
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We hope you enjoy reading our 2019/20 edition of Snapshot. During the autumn and spring terms the prep school children took part in so many activities, both in school and on school trips, that we wanted to share some of the highlights with you. The way in which our children have adapted to the current ways of learning is also worth celebrating and so we have included a special feature on remote learning in this edition too. We hope you are staying safe and well. The prep school senior leadership team
Rebecca Lyons-Smith Prep school headmistress
Kate Grosscurth Deputy head pastoral
Haylie Saunders Deputy head academic
A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW HEAD We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Brough who will be taking up the post of head of the prep school with effect from the start of the autumn term 2020. Jonathan has been headmaster at Hurlingham School in London since 2010, and prior to this was head of prep at City of London School for Girls. He is really looking forward to meeting all of our children and parents. I am very privileged to have been asked to take on the headship of this leading school and ensure it remains at the cutting edge of excellent primary practice. Its purpose-built specialist classrooms and 45 acres of rolling fields combine to provide a best practice learning environment both inside and outside for the children. I am looking forward to returning to single-sex education with all the additional exciting possibilities that it presents, in a school for which I have a long-standing admiration.
Jonathan Brough Jonathan holds a first degree with Qualified Teacher Status specialising in English and cross-curricular primary and middle school teaching from the University of Cambridge. He earned a National Professional Qualification for Headship through the National College of School Leadership and has a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature. He is also an Independent Schools Inspectorate inspector and a governor at a leading London day school.
SCHOOL LIFE
A MESSAGE FROM THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
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St Swithun’s Winchester
LOWER REMOTEPREP LEARNING
REMOTE LEARNING IN ACTION In these unprecedented times the way in which teachers, children and all of our parents have embraced online learning has been incredible. The patience of our parents, the ingenuity of the children and the dedication of the staff have been truly inspiring. Whilst it has not all been plain sailing, we are learning and adapting each day. Every family is in their own unique situation and some children will have found online learning more challenging than others, but every child should be proud of what they have achieved -well done! Here is a collection of some of the highlights.
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REMOTE LEARNING
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St Swithun’s Winchester
STEXTCHOOL LOWER PREP LIFE
A DAY IN THE LIFE IN NURSERY This year nursery children have been living life to the full!
GETTING CREATIVE The children spent a long time exploring with paints, mixing colours together and noticing the effects. They also painted some amazing still life pictures of sunflowers.
MAKING MUSIC Music lessons are a real favourite and the children enjoyed exploring rhythm and rhyme with Music Ted and Miss Roberts making lots of noise.
COOKING UP A FEAST! Nursery children have enjoyed their cooking sessions on a Friday morning. Even the parents are excited to see what goodies the children have made to take home!
We especially liked making pizza and chopped up all sorts of delicious things to make the topping.
ENJOYING THE FRESH AIR Our fabulous new courtyard play area has provided nursery children with plenty of outdoor fun. The children love exploring during their themed walks and the amazing grounds provide endless opportunities for them to learn while playing, looking for shapes, colours, things that start with..., listening for sounds and watching nature change and grow.
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Reception have been very busy learning through a variety of purposeful play and structured teaching sessions. Learning follows the children’s interests, and so lots of different themes and topics enable the children to become totally engaged. They have investigated the seasons, finding out about weather, growth and local animals. Weekly visits to Forest School have given them the chance to build fires, make dens, help each other and go bug hunting. They cook snacks on the campfire and sing songs. The class visited the senior school art exhibition and felt inspired, so began looking at famous artists. One of their favourite pieces is Starry Night by Van Gogh. They tried to recreate their own Starry Night paintings. Reception have had a fabulous few terms and made excellent progress.
LOWER PREP
RECEPTION HIGHLIGHTS
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St Swithun’s Winchester
LOWER PREP
IT’S ALL ABOUT CASTLES!
EXPLORING ARUNDEL CASTLE The year 1 girls were lucky enough to visit Arundel to learn all about castles. They were taught the correct vocabulary for all of the castle features and were encouraged to discuss what these impressive features were used for. All of the girls particularly enjoyed dressing up and taking on the role of someone who used to live in a castle. A great way to introduce the ‘discovery’ unit!
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LOWER PREP
OUTDOOR LEARNING LINKING WITH PILGRIMS SCHOOL We are very proud of the excellent start which our co-ed nursery gives to an increasing number of boys. Many of them, and also the brothers of some of our girls, move up to The Pilgrim’s School, in Winchester, with which we have a growing number of links. Year 1 students from both schools have shared fabulous outdoor learning afternoons this year. The learning experiences for both the girls and the boys went far beyond the curriculum objectives and there was much enjoyment in evidence. The proximity of the two schools and our fleet of minibuses means that more shared learning experiences for our lower prep children are on the cards.
INVESTIGATING LOCAL HISTORY
MRS DIPPER’S COOKERY CLASSES
The year 1 girls joined an excellent interactive workshop run by Winchester Cathedral Education Department. Before visiting the cathedral, the children had a session at school learning the stories of William Walker and St Swithun. During their visit they went down into the crypt and climbed the Pilgrim Steps.
Every other week the year 1 girls have the opportunity to put their measuring skills into practice when weighing out the ingredients for a variety of delicious recipes. Mrs Dipper chooses healthy recipes that use numerous culinary skills. It is a great opportunity for the girls to work together and follow instructions carefully.
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LOWER PREP
WE LOVE BOOKS! The whole prep school enjoyed activities for World Book Day in March. Here are year 2 dressed up for the occasion.
The lower prep students enjoy ‘Snuggle up with a book afternoons.’ Year 2 are enjoying some great stories.
PERFORM FOR SCHOOLS During the autumn term year 2 were visited twice by ‘Perform for Schools’. Year 2 enjoyed reading The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis. They then created their own amazing stories and their very own imaginary creature!
RAINFORESTS AT MARWELL ZOO In early March, year 2 went on an outing to Marwell Zoo to enhance their studies of rainforest environments. The girls enjoyed learning about the ways in which rainforest animals and plants are adapted to their surroundings and were given the opportunity to visit the rainforest exhibit. They explored the lush habitat formed by more than 650 plants, they experienced the sights and sounds of a rainforest and they saw a range of animal species including some charismatic mammals, free-flying birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. The girls were delighted when they spotted a shy two toed sloth hanging in the undergrowth. During the workshops the girls impressed us with their knowledge, understanding and questions relating to the rainforest. Here are some of the things they learnt: Rainforests are hot and humid Emily H A habitat is where an animal lives Isla The layers of the rainforest are the forest floor, understory, the canopy and the emergent layer Ella I liked stroking the royal python because it felt smooth and squishy Amelia The world’s rainforests are found around the equator Savi
In the first session they explored the topic of Mental Health and Wellbeing. During this informative and interactive workshop the children discussed the importance of recognising their feelings through fun warm ups, ice breaker games, role play and improvisation. I enjoyed the circle time when we talked about helping a friend who was feeling sad Savi During the next session ‘Perform for Schools’ delivered a fascinating workshop about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, exploring the key locations and characters. The children were taken back in a time capsule where they met Florence and Mary and the soldiers from the Crimean war. They performed an interactive time line based on key dates in Florence and Mary’s lives and improvised taking care of soldiers who were injured. We had fun, I enjoyed learning the Florence Nightingale rap Thea I loved pretending to be an injured soldier Aaria I liked scrubbing the hospital floor and cleaning the ward Kitty
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Year 3 experienced what life was like thousands of years ago as they travelled back in time to the Stone Age and the Iron Age.
STONEHENGE In their first outing they journeyed back to the year 2500BC on a visit to Stonehenge. They experienced how it was built and what an amazing feat it was to transport the enormous Sarsen stones 25 miles from Marlborough. Even more incredible, the Stone Age people carried the Bluestones 240 miles from Presili Hills in South Wales – our girls couldn’t make them move at all! The girls also discovered why people think Stonehenge was built and how the stones line up with the sunrise on the summer and winter solstice. Near Stonehenge there was an ancient burial mound. The girls learnt how the late Neolithic people would bury their dead and would give them special items such as jewellery, knives and bowls.
BUTSER ANCIENT FARM In their second trip, year 3 travelled back to the Iron Age to experience what Celtic life was like on a visit to Butser Ancient Farm. Life in a round house was cosy and quite comfortable but very smokey!
The girls tried their hand at building wattle fences. They also tried spinning and jewellery making. The spinning was really tricky and they realised it would take a long time to make very many clothes with the thread they created. Jewellery making was a lot of fun and each created either a bracelet, ring or earring. Their favourite activity of the whole trip was making clunch, an ancient local building material, made from scratch by crushing chalk and mixing it with mud, straw and water. They then helped to build a wall with the clunch at Butser. Clunch has now become a firm favourite for playtime in school! All in all a great day learning how the Celts lived.
UPPER PREP
TRAVELLING BACK IN TIME
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St Swithun’s Winchester
UPPER PREP
MARWELL ACTIVITY CENTRE In the autumn term year 4 set off excitedly on their first residential trip which was to Marwell Activity Centre. They settled into their cosy dorms and then the fun began. From kayaking to obstacle courses, aerial adventure to archery, the girls threw themselves into every activity with complete commitment, showing huge amounts of grit, gratitude and generosity. Every girl experienced challenges and successes, and came away feeling proud of herself, albeit a bit tired. Luckily the girls were fuelled by fabulous food and encouraged by excellent instructors all the way through into the evenings. This was a wonderful team building experience and the girls were a pleasure to take away.
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UPPER PREP
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TRIP Year 4 took part in a special trip which provided opportunities to experience and learn from different faiths and cultures, as well as visiting places of religious significance. Travelling to London, the first stop was to the beautiful Buddhapadipa temple in Wimbledon. The students were met by one of the monks living at the temple and guided through the key beliefs in Buddhism. The temple was intricately decorated both inside and out, and the girls enjoyed spotting interesting details in the murals inside; they even managed to spot Charlie Chaplin and Margaret Thatcher! The afternoon involved a visit to the largest mosque in Europe: the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden. Learning about the Five Pillars of Islam, the girls asked lots of insightful questions and were very lucky to be allowed to watch the 1 o’clock prayers from a balcony above the prayer hall. They also visited the women’s prayer hall, which led to lots of fun testing to see how soundproof the glass actually was.
WWF – POLAR BEARS AND PENGUINS! In the spring term, year 4 visited the WWF headquarters for a workshop about penguins and polar bears as part of their topic on polar environments. A fun and informative day was had by all.
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St Swithun’s Winchester
UPPER PREP
GETTING MUDDY AT MARGAM PARK At the end of September, year 5 embarked on a geography trip to Margam Park in Wales for a week of river studies, sketch mapping and rather a lot of mud! Despite the rain, the first afternoon was spent on a wet walk around the grounds of the park, looking at landmarks, different types of geography and landscapes which were then all used to create the girls’ own sketch maps focusing on human, physical, environmental and historical geography. The following morning (after a little sleep) and dressed in waterproofs, they headed out into the park to learn about river mapping and water studies. To test their knowledge on measuring speed and depth of rivers, the girls were put to the test by racing oranges down different parts of the river. And then it was their turn. How quickly could they move through the mud? With lost wellies, trousers and some very dirty girls, the day ended with a good wash, meal and a DVD night. The next day was all about orienteering. After learning how to read a map and grid references, they created their own map to find a missing welly. This prepared them for their big orienteering challenge in the afternoon which involved finding clues to make a word. Whilst Mrs Hodge was hard at work judging the cleanest dorm room, the final morning involved looking at sustainability and environmental geography. The girls learnt about being green and what the centre does to be environmentally friendly. Throughout the week all the girls demonstrated grit, gratitude and generosity, and were a pleasure to take away. Despite the Welsh rain, there were lots of smiles and they learnt a lot about different areas of geography, as well as developing their leadership skills.
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ACTIVITIES & INTEREST
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St Swithun’s Winchester
UPPER PREP
OUTDOOR CLASSROOM DAY During November year 5 braved the chill and walked into Winchester. The girls used their mapping skills to determine key landmarks in the city and enjoyed observing these from the viewpoint on St Giles’ Hill. During the walk, they stopped to note the human geography surrounding them. At the Winchester City Museum the students learned about the city’s history and how some things have changed, while others have stayed the same over the years. They used their iPads to photograph the beautiful cathedral and appreciate its architecture. After some well-earned lunch the girls enjoyed a selfguided tour of the cathedral and spent time learning about its history, as well as comparing and contrasting some of the key features and beliefs of Christianity and Sikhism. Finally, they walked through historic Winchester, passing Jane Austen’s house, Wolvesey Castle and Winchester College, before enjoying a stroll by the Itchen River to appreciate the city’s physical geography. They headed back to school tired, but much more knowledgeable about our local city.
WORLD WAR 2 – OUR FAMILIES During the spring term, year 5 researched how their own families had been impacted by World War 2. They found some fascinating information about the jobs their relatives had done and some even discovered that Winston Churchill had been a family friend! The girls did some truly impressive research and many found it brought them closer to their older relatives as they interviewed them about their experiences. The girls presented their discoveries in a wonderful assembly to the school and their parents, and in a beautiful exhibition that was admired by all as they passed through the school library.
THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE Year 5 students have recreated their own version of Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse in their Flourish lessons. They have developed their own motivational quotes, mirroring the hope and positive mood of the original book. They collated all their work and drawings to create their very own class book.
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UPPER PREP
ICE-SKATING FUN As a Christmas treat year 6 enjoyed an extremely festive and fun afternoon of ice-skating at Winchester Cathedral. They finished the day with a warming hot chocolate and a look around the Christmas market. A great time was had by all!
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St Swithun’s Winchester
UPPER PREP
EXCEPTIONAL ENGLISH PROJECTS There have been some fantastic English projects happening in years 5 and 6. Some are still a work in progress for a return to school, but here are a couple of examples of the great work produced last term. Studying scenes from the life of the Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, Lucy W in year 5 writes a series of diary entries that encapsulate episodes from his adventures. January 7th,1912 Today we arrived at Cape Denison to set up main base. While we were sailing here, everyone was wary of the sea ice especially our helmsman, Thomas Potts. When we began setting up, it was so cold and so windy - if we hadn’t worn crampons, we would have been blown away. Dr Xavier Mertz, Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis and I (Belgrave prefers to be called by his middle name, Edward) will leave main base in a few months’ time to map the Antarctic. We are both excited and nervous as we consider what this can bring.
Free Verse Poem The Boat
Claudia W, year 6
November 10th, 1912 Today was finally the day when we set off to map Antarctica. Edward, Xavier and I have brought the necessary supplies on three sledges; food, drink, clothing, the huskies, kerosene, lamps and so on. As I write this, I am in our tent while the others try and get ready to sleep, which is hard because it is very cold. As it is getting late, I shall do the same. December 13th, 1912 Oh dear! I’m afraid something terrible has happened. This afternoon Edward fell down a crevasse along with more than half our previsions, our strongest dogs and more. I shall describe it to you. We were walking across the ice when Xavier signalled that there was a snow-covered crevasse ahead. I found what seemed like a safe area, crossed and then Edward was supposed to follow. I heard a cry behind me, turned and saw Xavier alone on the ice, with one of the sledges gone. You see, earlier this morning we had discarded one of our sledges, and put its cargo on the remaining two. It was the sledge with more of its cargo that fell with Edward. Now Xavier and I are turning back, with ten days rations and three weeks to go. We are fearing we will have to eat one of our dogs, most likely George. We must continue travelling, even through the night. December 15th, 1912 Our fears have come true, we have had to shoot George. Xavier did it as I could not kill my old friend. It was hard for him too, so he decided to only eat the liver. I am weakened so I must eat the meat. Our rations are dwindling, but we still need dog food - we are currently feeding them scraps of leather, bits of broken mittens and anything else we can spare. I can hear Xavier mumbling something in his sleep and sadly, I have the remains of George stored next to me. I feel I must sleep now. January 7th, 1913 Here I am, exactly a year from when we arrived, but sadly today is not a day for celebration. I woke up this morning to have a curious feeling in my feet and to hear Xavier shouting in his sleep. “NO, STOP. STOP. STOP IT!” he screamed. I had to ignore him and get changed, but as I took my socks off something else came off too. Some of my toes! Blackened, burnt-looking toes came off. At that moment Xavier woke so I had to help him out of his sleeping bag, get changed and on the sledge. By now we have only a few dogs left, the strongest two being Ginger and Pavlova. I finished getting myself changed; trying not to look at my feet, fed Xavier, then packed up. I had to help the dogs pull the sledge, hearing Xavier babbling all the way. I heard struggling breaths behind me and saw that Xavier couldn’t continue. I set up camp and got him into his sleeping bag, then sat down and looked after him. A quarter of an hour later, all strength left him, and he took his last, pained breath. Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis left us for the good place, Dr Xavier Mertz flew to a world of happiness and, I fear I am next. For now, I shall wait to see what tomorrow brings and must hope for the best.
Waves lap, lap against the rock; the warm glow of the setting sun paints the coast with a deep crimson light. For a moment, sea merges with sky, then inky blackness steals over the land. A single boat, its paint old and flaking, bobs in the nowblackened water, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake. A star glimmers in the sky above the only light, save for the moon. The shadowy sea is suddenly illuminated: the lighthouse revealing its brilliant beam, the sea becoming an amber reflection of the ray. A lone star still glistens in the midnight sky and the boat leaves the safety of the shore.
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So far 2019/20 has been a bumper year for sport. We have participated in 147 fixtures in netball, football, cross-country and swimming across U8-U11. We won the U9 Westbourne House and The Manor tournaments, the U10 PGS versatility tournaments and the U11 Bryanston Plate. We also hosted the IAPS U11 Netball regionals for the first time. We have enjoyed house football, netball, cross-country and swimming in which every child across the school has had the opportunity to compete. Here are some of the highlights:
INTER-SCHOOLS’ CROSSCOUNTRY COMPETITION
INTER-HOUSE CROSSCOUNTRY COMPETITION
In November, 14 girls travelled to Stroud School to compete in an inter-schools’ cross-country event. The girls all ran really well on an unfamiliar and mixed terrain course and achieved some outstanding results. In the year 4 race Grace, Flora and Eleanor finished in the top three positions. Alice W won the year 5 event and Izzy was third for year 6.
In October upper prep competed in inter-house cross-country races, cheered on by the flag-waving lower prep children. The team winners in year 3 were Kingfishers, in year 4 it was Woodpeckers, in year 5 it was Robins and in year 6 it was Kingfishers who took the victory, even though the top 3 runners were from Owls House. The overall house cross-country winners were the Kingfishers.
INTER-SCHOOL SWIMMING MATCHES
CRICKET SUCCESS
The first inter-school swimming match of the autumn term was against Dunhurst. Almost fifty St Swithun’s swimmers represented the school in a convincing victory. We also won our second match against St Gabriel’s. The first inter-school swimming match of the spring term was against Prince’s Mead. With many of the races incredibly close, St Swithun’s secured a victory with 211 points to 191. Our second match was against a strong combined team of girls and boys from Farleigh in which they secured a narrow victory.
INTER-HOUSE SWIMMING GALAS During the spring term, the much-anticipated annual internal swimming galas took place with years 3-6 competing for the inter-house cup. There was some amazing swimming and all the girls can be very proud of their contribution. The Owls won, with Woodpeckers in 2nd place, Robins in 3rd place and the Kingfishers in 4th place. In the afternoon, the children in reception, year 1 and year 2 had the opportunity to demonstrate their swimming skills and all thoroughly enjoyed the fun swim session at the end.
Sara B was crowned best U11 bowler 2019 at her cricket club, and was selected to play in some U13 cup tournament games. She took two wickets in a game, helping her club to win the tournament. Following on from her club success, Sara attended the hard ball tryouts for the Hampshire Vipers, and was selected to join the Cobras Regional Performance Centre (RPC) which is one level below county. Sara is thrilled and looking forward to playing lots more cricket!
ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
SPORT ROUNDUP
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St Swithun’s Winchester
ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
VICTORY AT WESTBOURNE HOUSE NETBALL TOURNAMENT In November, the U9s travelled to Chichester to play in the Westbourne House netball tournament. The afternoon started exceptionally well and the team was unbeaten in the group stages against Westbourne House, Conifers, Brighton and Highfield. There was some slick passing down court and some excellent shooting. After a tense semi-final, the girls made it through to the final against Farlington. Despite some early nerves we pulled away in a storming second half, to win the tournament. Our victorious team scored the most goals and conceded the least of all the teams taking part.
U9 SUCCESS – THE MANOR TOURNAMENT The U9s had another successful tournament at The Manor, Abingdon in March. On a rather chilly Saturday morning, the girls travelled to Oxford and ended their season on a high. They drew their first match against strong opposition, Godstowe, before going on to win every other game and securing the gold medal.
BE MORE YETI
U11 BRYANSTON TOURNAMENT AND IAPS
Throughout the year, the sports department recognise students who have been going above and beyond in all their lessons with a ‘be more yeti’ attitude – they keep persevering until they get there. In November, Izzie W was awarded Betty the Yeti for her gritty attitude and improvement.
The U11s have had a very successful run since Christmas and came away with the Bryanston Netball Tournament Plate. Bryanston is always a tough tournament with 28 schools competing. After some hard games in the group stage, only drawing and losing one, we moved into the plate competition for the afternoon. We played Salisbury Cathedral in the semi-finals, winning 6-2 before facing Durlston Court in the final. The girls upped their game completely and deservedly won the plate.
OVERALL HOUSE WINNERS The Woodpeckers won the house cupcakes at half term. They claimed the house cup at Christmas and narrowly beat the Owls in the house point chart in February. By Easter however, the Owls regained the cup having won various house competitions including the swimming gala and house points across the whole term.
This year for the first time ever, we hosted the regional round of the IAPS U11 Netball Tournament. The U11As played exceptionally all day and went through in third position. Progressing successfully through the quarterfinals and semi-finals, the team lost narrowly in the final. The squad has made considerable progress since the start of the season and worked exceptionally hard. They should be justifiably proud. We look forward to hosting the national event next February.
U10 PGS TOURNAMENT Our U10s have also seen success this year, winning the PGS versatility tournament in February against our local rival schools. After dominating the afternoon we were unbeaten. This was a brilliant achievement.
Willow B-H (Woodpeckers House Captain)
Orlaigh W (Owls House Captain)
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ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
WILDERNESS AFTERNOONS Wilderness afternoons during the autumn term focused on learning about how getting outdoors can improve our well-being. Miss Albin had the great pleasure of taking every child from year R to year 6 on a mindfulness walk, involving sensory activities designed to help the children feel calm and connect with the beautiful landscape around them. Magdalen Hill Down has continued to surprise us, as we have explored some of the more out of the way paths that we didn’t know were there. We have watched the autumn colours changing and shared our favourite views, we’ve spotted kestrels hunting and skylarks nesting, counted the many different sounds that can be heard when you really stop and listen, and returned each Friday feeling relaxed, renewed and reinvigorated by nature. Miss Albin
In the Spring term years 3 and 4 went to Crab Wood near Sparsholt. There they enjoyed an ‘Earth Walk’ involving a range of sensory activities, including forest bathing, getting to know a tree (whilst blindfolded) and making smelly mocktails. Year 4 also built some super shelters.
FOREST SCHOOL Our reception children take part in Forest School every week. The sessions teach the children to work together and to use different senses to explore Magdalen Hill. At the end, they share what they’ve enjoyed whilst sitting round a campfire – before learning how to put it out safely. Year 1 children love playing in our outdoor learning area, climbing the trees, playing in the mud kitchen, making magic wands with sticks and wool, and tackling a shapes and mapping challenge.
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St Swithun’s Winchester
FEARLESS CREATIVITY
GETTING CREATIVE WITH ART AND DT The art and design technology room was a hive of activity during the autumn term, with the children taking part in a variety of creative projects. Year 5 made toys, designing and creating moving wooden carousels. They worked predominantly in the senior school technology department and used a variety of tools and machinery, including the Hegner saws and drills to make the individual components of their toys.
Colour was the focus of year 2’s art project. The children learned about the colour wheel and how to mix colours to create different hues, shades, tints and tones. They also studied the work of Piet Mondrian and explored how to make abstract collages using the primary colours. In their design technology work, the year 2 children learned how to design and make a variety of puppets.
The year 4 children were learning the art of painting through their mixed-media autumn project. They experimented with different materials to create autumn scenes and applied paint to their work using a range of tools, including sponges, cotton buds and matchsticks. The effects were amazing.
In design technology lessons, year 4 had fun exploring and making pop-up mechanisms.
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FEARLESS CREATIVITY
As part of their portraits project, year 1 children learnt about the differences between realistic and nonrealistic portraits. They experimented drawing self-portraits in a variety of styles and learnt about the work of famous artists, such as Picasso in the process.
The year 1 children also explored how to create castle structures in their design technology lessons. Year 6 developed sewing skills through their hats project. They explored how to make a pattern and learnt a variety of techniques to assemble the various components.
The year 3 children were introduced to artists from around the world, including Klimt and Hundertwasser to inspire their project on Pattern and Shape. They also learnt about how to create stable structures in their design technology lessons using a variety of tools and materials.
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GETTING CREATIVE IN THE SPRING TERM In the spring term children worked creatively, skilfully and experimentally on a wide variety of projects with fantastic results. Year 1 developed drawing, painting and sculpting skills through their ‘trees’ project. They made observational drawings of trees within the school grounds and used the sketches to create mixed-media tree artwork.
Year 2 children learnt about the art of printmaking. They experimented with different techniques, including tile printing. They have also learnt about Aboriginal dot painting and produced artwork based on the Dreamtime story of The Rainbow Serpent.
In year 3 the children built their Celtic roundhouses. They measured, cut and assembled the main parts of their structure and learnt how to drill, wattle, daub and thatch.
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Portraits have been the main focus for the year 5 children in their art lessons this term. They have learned how to draw portraits in various styles, including caricatures and cubist portraits. They have also experimented with cutting out silhouettes.
In year 6, children explored movement in both two and three-dimensional form. They have learnt to draw figures in motion in the styles of surrealist artist, Joan Miró and pop artist, Keith Haring.
FEARLESS CREATIVITY
Year 4 children created pop-up books in design technology lessons, using a variety of mechanisms to enhance their stories. They were inspired by the work of author, illustrator and pop-up artist, Paul Stickland, who spent an afternoon with the children showing them how to make pop-up monsters.
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FEARLESS CREATIVITY
PERFORMANCE AND MUSIC There were some fabulous music and drama activities taking place across the school during the autumn and spring terms.
SHAKESPEARE SCHOOLS’ FESTIVAL Our year 5 girls worked extremely hard in the first half of term to produce two wonderful plays at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton as part of the National Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. The progress in skill and confidence in these girls was extraordinary, and every single one of them owned the stage. They received outstanding feedback from the professional actor/directors. We are enormously proud of their achievement.
CAROLS AT ST CROSS Our prep school choir and our year 5 and 6 children got the festive season off to a wonderful start with our advent carol service. The singing was beautiful, with a wide range of challenging music, and included two brand new carols written by the children and Miss Silvester. The readers spoke sincerely and brought the story of this most magical time to life for the appreciative congregation.
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Well, it is not often we can say that we are thrilled to find everything in the lower prep department being ‘topsy turvy’ however, the ‘Higgledy Piggeldy’ nature of the nativity was fabulous. The lower prep and early years really are where the magic begins both in terms of education AND in terms of Christmas. It was so lovely to see the whole department coming together as one and we hope that you all enjoyed it just as much as we did. Miss Silvester
Also during the Autumn term …. Year 4 workshopped Matilda the Musical.
Years 2 and 3 took part in a music circus looking at instruments of the orchestra and learning to read rhythmic notation.
FEARLESS CREATIVITY
A HIGGLEDY PIGGELDY NATIVITY
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St Swithun’s Winchester
FEARLESS CREATIVITY
FAME ACADEMY In the spring year 5 girls put their musical talents into action for Fame Academy. They wrote original songs, arranged them in bands and then visited the Factory Road Recording Studios to record their year 6 Album such great work and an amazing experience.
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A two day music festival featuring performances from all our instrumentalists and singers right through from year 2 to year 6. The festival included both non-competitive and competitive events.
The year 4s workshopped A Midsummer Night’s Dream with visiting actor Peter Basham.
FEARLESS CREATIVITY
The spring term also involved‌.
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St Swithun’s Winchester
STEXTCHOOL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE LIFE
A GLOBAL LEAD IN HIGH PERFORMANCE LEARNING
LOWER PREP DEEP LEARNING MORNINGS
We are delighted to congratulate year 3 teacher, Jenny Davies, who has become a High Performance Learning (HPL) Global Lead Teacher.
Deep Learning mornings are a regular and very popular feature of our lower prep department. We blend together the children from each of our year groups, so that our youngest nursery children have the chance to work with our oldest year 2s, alongside a friendly mixture of all those who come between.
HPL is a philosophy which recognises that all children have the potential for high-level achievement, regardless of ability. It is an approach embedded across the curriculum and all areas of school life at St Swithun’s. It systematically teaches even the youngest of pupils the skills and behaviours that will enable them to achieve the best they can during their time at school and equip them to succeed in the next stage of their education. Jenny has been recognised as a teacher who can act as a global leader within a network of practitioners across all HPL schools. She will not only share her knowledge with others, but will be able to develop a network of like-minded teachers for the benefit of all staff at St Swithun’s, giving them new ideas and strategies, and the confidence to deliver them in the classroom. Jenny has been on the HPL working group since St Swithun’s started its HPL journey. She has been involved in staff inset, as well as helping to deliver conferences to other school heads and those thinking about starting HPL in their schools. Jenny has also been a major player in setting up resources for staff and pupils at St Swithun’s. Jenny has worked at St Swithun’s since 1989 where she started her career as a teaching assistant in KS1. Her vast experience with the younger year groups, where she has predominantly worked, has allowed her to suggest ways of helping these children to have a greater understanding of their learning. When asked how she felt about becoming an HPL Global Lead teacher Jenny said, “I feel amazed. Although I enjoy developing things and helping in school I never really considered that what I did was anything special. It is lovely to realise that what you are doing is actually great” In her new role, Jenny plans to focus on attitudes to learning. Building on developments which are a biproduct of remote learning, Jenny is hoping the prep school will introduce a regular whole-school sharing of resources so that children can develop a really good understanding of what makes a good learner and what positive attitudes look like in lessons. She is also keen to make sure that HPL is embedded in all planning, as well as helping teachers to realise that most of what they do is already HPL.
These mornings are also a perfect opportunity for each child to meet every member of staff from the department, as we take them on a journey through a series of carefully planned activities. Each morning is centred around a given theme, enabling us to focus on one key idea and to deepen the learning involved by approaching the subject in a variety of ways. Deep Learning mornings provide the backdrop for our culture of High Performance Learning. We expect all children, from whichever year group, to achieve new and exciting things on the day. So far, the themes we have focused on are personal, social and emotional development with a particular emphasis on: •
Friendship First
•
Religious education: looking at world religions
•
Digital learning,: exploring the array of kit available in our CAT Hub
•
Craft and design: making Christmas decorations using familiar materials in new ways
•
Investigative maths: working on open ended problem solving
The children rotate through each of the activities and learn an array of social skills working with different personalities and other age groups. They are full of excitement to experience the focal topics through deep learning.
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World Book Day The girls in year 6 produced some amazing bookmarks and book covers during World Book Day. There were many other related activities during the week.
UPPER PREP READING CHALLENGE With the inaugural Reading Challenge well under way, many children have been exploring the wonderful world of literature like never before. Numerous students have moved up one or more levels in their reading scheme. Others have reached the top of the reading tree and become independent readers. Each half term such progress is celebrated in school, but for now remember the motto practice makes improvement. Keep trying.
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St Swithun’s Winchester
STEXTCHOOL ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE LIFE
TIGER TABLES CHALLENGE October 2019 Results Rainbow badge Achievers (5) – Solé D (4A), Sofia B (4A), Flora E (4A), April M (4W) Daisy B (5G)
Calculate Cub Achievers (5) – Arabella B (4W), Eleanor S (4W), Verity C (4A), Lucy W (4A), Izzie W (4A) Bronze Tiger Tables Achievers (7) –Charlotte W (6F), Agnes
DC BEAGLE MATHS COMPETITIONS During the spring term St Swithun’s took part in three maths competitions, hosted by DC Beagle. The year 4 contest was at West Hill Park School. Portsmouth Grammar School hosted the year 5 competition and year 6 went to St John’s Beaumont Prep Boys School.
December 2019 Results
Four girls were chosen from each year group to take part and were put into pairs to tackle a variety of maths challenges such as Dicey Dicey, Broken Calculators and Count Down. All of the tasks test the participants on their speed, accuracy and ability to problem solve through a unique selection of challenging tasks and puzzles. The events were very well attended and the venues were buzzing with excitement as the young mathematicians took part.
Rainbow badge Achievers (4) – Verity C (4A), Lucy W (4A), Isabella B (4W), Sophie Z (4W), Izzie W (4A), Arabella B (4W), Nicole K (4W)
Congratulations to Ankara P and Angel T from year 6 for coming 11th out of 59, and Sofia B and Verity C, from year 4 for coming 14th out of 36. No mean feat.
Calculate Cub Achievers (4) – Cordelia W (4W), Agnes S (5G), Charlotte W (6F), Amber B (6T), Alana B (5G)
Our two pairs from year 5, Abigail P and Alice W, and Eloise C and Araliya P, were placed 2nd and 3rd respectively our of 40 pairs - a huge achievement.
S (5G), Elsie L (5G), Giselle S (5I), Jaina D (5I), Cordelia W(4W)
Silver Tiger Tables Achievers (3) – Ankara P (6F), Amélie B
(6F), Betsy Y (5G)
Gold Tiger Tables Achievers (1) – Angel T (6F) 68 children took the challenge this time.
Bronze Tiger Tables Achievers (9) – Thea B (4W), Lois R-R (5I), Flo C-M (5I), Matilda H (5G), Libby W (5I), Aurelia R (6F), Mathilda W (6T), Jess W (6T), Ankara P (6F) 69 children took the challenge this time.
February 2020 Results Rainbow badge Achievers (2) – Sankar N (3J), Amari M (3D) Calculate Cub Achievers (4) – April M (4W), Sofia B (4A), Flora E (4A), Eleanor C (5I) Bronze Tiger Tables Achievers (6) – Izzie W (4A), Ellis O (4A), Verity C (4A), Arabella H (4A), Sophie B (6F), Isabella K (6F) 68 children took the challenge this time.
AUTUMN TERM INTER-HOUSE MATHS CHALLENGE All year groups took part in their own hour-long, 4-page inter-house maths challenge and found themselves with a rather large maths headache when they were finished. The questions became harder as the paper progressed and this was reflected in the points available. Nobody managed to answer all the questions, but some girls were very strategic in how they accessed the paper and some managed to score very highly. The total points for every child were converted into a score out of 20 and added together to reveal the winning house. Well done to all the girls for using their grit and having a go at what was a very tricky challenge.
Position
Score
Kingfishers
1st
342
Woodpeckers
2nd
341
Owls
3rd
288
Robins
4th
272
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The Covid-19 situation has given us all a chance to reflect, to show gratitude to those who are helping us and to be generous to those in need. The children who have been in school have shown their thanks to the NHS and key workers. Other children have made rainbows of hope for the St Swithun’s Gratitude challenge. These beautiful rainbows were made by Daisy W and Orlaigh W.
GIRLS ON BOARD Over the course of the autumn term, we introduced the ‘Girls On Board’ programme to years 5 and 6. ‘Girls on Board’ is an approach to help children and in particular girls, to navigate the murky waters of friendship and to equip them with the tools to deal with minor issues themselves. On the first day of the academic year we talked the girls through the principles and the different scenarios that might occur, including leaving a friend out of a sleepover, what happens when parents get involved and also different raft sizes (friendship group sizes) and the pros and pitfalls of each. All the girls were extremely responsive. Interestingly, the main feedback from the children was that it is much worse when adults get involved.
‘GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE’ – THE PERFECT VISITOR FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. On International Women’s Day Shadi GanjavianConnor visited the prep school.
Many of our children have been doing things for the community. Here are just two examples:
Fuelled by her desire to help the world in any way she can, Shadi inspires others. She is co-founder of the community interest company, SHAPE Hampshire, established to introduce mind, body and education support to schools in the county.
Ava B baked cupcakes and cookies for the needy. She has also spent time chatting (from a distance) to the elderly who do not get many visitors. Sophie B has been raising money for the Southampton Hospital Charity by doing 1000 cartwheels.
Over the years Shadi has been involved in starting fundraising and awareness for many community projects. She climbed Mont Blanc to raise money and awareness for the Teenage Cancer Trust in June 2016. In 2017, despite her continued fear of heights and dread of cold weather, Shadi scaled the Matterhorn on behalf of children’s charity The Murray Parish Trust. This huge fundraising project raised over £30,000. The staff have been doing their bit too. You may have seen a trend racing around social media to raise money for the NHS by running 5km, donating £5 and nominating five other people. Miss Iliffe, Mrs Grosscurth, Mrs Greenfield and Miss Albin all took part, as well as a few of our girls and their families.
And nothing says community like a good sing-a-long for VE Day.
Shadi spoke to the children at St Swithun’s about her perseverance when mountain climbing. She gave an inspiring assembly which featured all of her mountaineering kit, and talked about how her failures have made her more determined to keep going. It was a great opportunity for the girls to see a woman demonstrate grit by doing something so dangerous and gruelling. It was the perfect way to celebrate International Women’s Day.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY & BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
THE ST SWITHUN’S COMMUNITY SPIRIT
St Swithun’s Prep School, Alresford Road, Winchester, SO21 1HA 01962 835750 prepoffice@stswithuns.com www.stswithuns.com Registered Charity Number 307335