Dear Parents,
We welcomed the parents of Lower Trans U (Year 3) this morning, to share with us a beautiful Assembly on 'Rules'. The children sang and spoke so well and taught us about the importance of forgiveness.
As we near the end of the first half-term, our children continue to work well in their lessons. Trans (Year 4) have begun their class reader, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Upper Prep (Year 2) and Lower Trans (Year 3) have been expanding their vocabulary with some beautiful sentence stacking in English. Remove (Year 6) are busy rehearsing for their Guardian Angels' performance, ready to perform next week. Lower down the school the Early Years children have been learning about Autumn, and producing some lovely written work on the subject.
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Backflips Against Bullying
On Wednesday, as part of our Anti-Bullying initiative, we were visited by Backflips Against Bullying at school. This is a programme for schools, that features high-energy performances by a team of incredible acrobats.
When children are engaged, they learn. Backflips Against Bullying engaged our children with some incredible gymnastics and educated them about bullying. During the performance, the children learnt about: power dynamics and resilience, cyber-bullying, harassment and real-world consequences.
It was a fun approach to a serious topic. All of our children deserve to feel happy and safe at school and our anti-bullying campaign is a reminder of our school values.
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Celebrating Success
Well done to Mahaayana, who has been awarded Grade 3 in his Carnatic Vocal examination and was awarded Electrical Engineer award by Cybernetics at the New Scientist Live symposium in London.
Congratulations to our sports stars: Avaani who was awarded a silver medal in her first judo competition; Kashvi, who has recently passed her karate assessment and has moved from purple white to purple brown tag; and Shrey, who completed the gruelling Spartan Euro Championship.
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History Detectives
Lower Trans (Year 3) have been giving Sherlock Holmes a run for his money, as History Detectives. The children have been examining evidence on St Bernard's Prep that dates back to 1945, and comparing it with our school today. It has been a fascinating topic and sparked much enthusiasm and passion for History amongst our children.
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Calling all FOPS (Friends of Prep School)
St Bernard's Prep's PTA has long been known as FOPS - Friends Of Prep School. In previous years our FOPS has helped stage some fantastic events, from the Christmas Bizarre to the Summer Fete, Valentine's Discos and soft play. When Covid forced us to shut our doors, these lovely events were also suspended. Now that normal life has resumed, and we have lots of new families in the St Bernard's Prep community, it would be wonderful to get these events, and more, up and running again. Do join Mrs Verma on Wednesday 19th October, after drop off, for a coffee and a pastry to talk about FOPS' plans for the upcoming year.
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Mr B's Sports Report
Under 10 Netball vs Langley Hall
Last Friday our Under 10 Netball squad travelled to Langley Hall to participate in the first netball fixture of this academic year. With this being our hockey term, our girls did not have much time to prepare but were certainly up for the challenge. And they did not disappoint! Three 10 minute sections were played, which saw our ladies produce fantastic and exciting netball, resulting in well deserved goals. With everyone playing an important role for the team, We won the match 11-3. Isabella, Gayathri and Navami all picked up the MVP accolades for the team for their outstanding work across the court. Well done ladies.
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Under 11 Futsal (Indoor Football)
On Monday 10th October, 7 of our Under 11 Football players had the opportunity to participate in a Futsal event which was hosted by Thorpe House School. This was a wonderful experience for our boys as they were given the chance to showcase their football skills in a different format of the game. Along with St Bernard’s Prep and the hosts Thorpe House, both Herries Prep School and Chalfonts St Peter Primary participated in 5 a side matches of 10 minutes, with each school playing against each other once. Our boys gained plenty from the afternoon and we look forward to attending this event again next year.
Well done boys!
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Under 11 Hockey vs Gayhurst
On Wednesday the 12thof October our Under 11A and B Hockey teams travelled to Gerrards Cross to play against Gayhurst School. Both teams put up an outstanding effort on the pitches and produced some fantastic inter team play. Our opposition were very strong but our girls maintained their composure throughout the afternoon. Regardless of losing both games narrowly, the players blended very well amongst each other.
Well done to both teams and a special well done to both Simran and Sukhmani for being nominated as the MVPs for their respective teams.
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Autumn
Our Early Years children have produced some beautiful work along the theme of Autumn.
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Eco Council
Our School Eco Council met this week to complete the Environmental Review. The review is an opportunity for us to look at how well we are supporting the environment and the areas that need improvement. Our Eco Councillors did a fabulous job, and we are looking forward to seeing new initiatives that they introduce.
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Junior Dukes
Our Junior Dukes Club has proven itself to be very popular! The children are loving getting stuck in, learning new skills and making a valuable contribution to the world around them. We have recently received our first certificates from Junior Dukes, one of which is a Trees for Life as part of our rewilding projects.
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Harvest Donations
Thank you for your generous Harvest Festival donations. We were inundated with food, which have gone to three deserving charities. Slough Food Bank, Windsor Homeless Project and XX
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Digital Diet
In an ever expanding digital world, it is important that we get the balance right for our children.
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Dates and Reminders
Monday 17th - Thursday 20th October - Buddy Week
Wednesday 19th October - FOPS coffee morning
Wednesday 19th October - Bollywood dancing and Guardian Angels celebration
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Mrs Verma's Big Ideas for Curious Minds
As a school we love to stretch and challenge our children, to enrich their education beyond the curriculum. Every week I will be sharing with you some discussion topics, new vocabulary, Maths riddles and book recommendations, that will infect our children with a love of learning. These will all be posted in the Parent Portal section of our website as well.
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Black History Month
Every October we celebrate Black History Month in the UK. It was started by Akyaaba Sebo, a special projects coordinator of the Ethnic Minorities Unit at the now defunct Great London Council.
He wanted to boost the self-esteem of Black British children and young adults by educating them on the long history and achievements of Black people living in the UK.
I'm always happy to have Black History in the spotlight in October, but I remind the children that we must celebrate Black people in history every month, not only in October.
The role of British White people in history is well-documented, however Black British history has been underreported, so this is a chance for our children to celebrate the achievements, contribution and integral role that our Black community have played in Britain.
I also like to extend this celebration to other minority ethnic groups, who have also been overlooked in the retelling of our past.
Please share with your children some of the books from our recommended reading list and talk to them about the valuable contribution their ancestors and the ancestors of their peers, made to the country we live in today.
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“Darkness can not drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr
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Have a lovely weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs A Verma
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