Dear Parents,

It has been an incredibly busy week and a half at school, filled with exciting events and celebrations! On Tuesday 2nd, we had the much-anticipated Prize-Giving for our Year 6 children, marking their achievements and hard work. Additionally, we held a beautiful Holy Communion Mass for the children who received the holy sacrament of Communion this year. The week continued with a very special celebration assembly, LAMDA performances, the Year 6 Leavers' party, a successful Parents Evening for valuable discussions, and a touching Leavers' Mass to bid farewell to our Year 6 pupils. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, you should also have received your child's Pentecost report. We are thrilled with the progress and effort shown by each child. Thank you to all our parents and children for your unwavering support and engagement in our school community.

Awards

Micro Dukes, Mini Dukes and Junior Dukes

It has been another successful year for Junior Dukes at St Bernard’s Prep with the introduction of Micro Dukes and Mini Dukes for our youngest children. Our children have worked hard on their challenges and have mastered a wide range of skills, from vacuuming to handwashing, sewing to swimming and First Aid to fixing a puncture. The children have carried out ecological work and provided service to the local community. Every child demonstrated dedication, perseverance and resilience, gaining many skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives. As always, I was incredibly proud to award these children their badges and certificates.

Congratulations to each and every child who gained their Micro, Mini or Junior Duke Award this year.

Anti-Bullying Ambassador Respect Badge

Our amazing Anti-Bullying Ambassadors have been honoured with the Respect Award for their outstanding efforts in promoting respect and inclusivity within our school community. From presenting engaging assemblies to raising awareness about celebrating everyone's differences, our ambassadors have truly gone above and beyond. In particular, Ria Y5, who created a heartfelt video spreading the message of empathy and acceptance. To further promote inclusivity and understanding, our ambassadors have also curated a collection of books for our library celebrating diversity and the importance of embracing differences.

Primary First Maths Challenge

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding achievements of our Year 2, 3 and 4 pupils at the Primary First Maths Challenge! 

Special congratulations to the 8 children who clinched the coveted gold award, demonstrating their amazing maths skills. Plus, a huge well done to Mia from Year 4 for achieving the impressive full marks award! 

The Challenge featured 20 thought-provoking multiple-choice questions. They had 45 minutes to showcase their mathematical prowess, with no aids except scrap paper. Encouraging logical thinking and problem-solving skills, the questions aimed to inspire our children to think outside the box. 

CREST Science Award

Our Year 1 children have excelled in their CREST Star Awards. These young talents have completed eight engaging Star activities, showcasing their problem-solving skills in STEM subjects. The CREST Star activities form an excellent introduction to real-world problem-solving for our budding scientists in a hands-on interactive way. The challenges focus on everyday scenarios, encouraging children to think critically and creatively. CREST activities are designed to spark curiosity and a love for learning, all while having fun! Mrs Young is extremely proud of all their hard work.

Sports Person of the Year

Over the course of 2023/24 all children from Reception to Year 6 took part in a number of activities which tested their strength, agility, endurance and coordination.  Exercises and activities included: sprinting, long jump, basketball bounces, star-jumps, skipping, long distance running, tennis ball throwing and vortex throws. All of the children achieved points, and these were collated and added to the four school houses. Matthew came out on top as our school’s fittest house with a total of 6700 points, with Mark being the runners-up on 6200. The children all participated exceptionally well with some outstanding scores being achieved.  A huge congratulations to everyone and a special well done to the following children for being the top boy and top girl achiever in each respective year group:

Reception: Sriyaan and Lauren

Prep: Avaan and Kiran

Upper Prep: Raaghav and Saisha

Lower Trans: Niko and Darissa

Trans: Veeran, Anya and Inaaya

Upper Trans: Ayaan and Dea

Remove: Jayan and Hasitha

Primary Engineer Awards:

If you were an engineer, what would you do?

We are thrilled to announce that the talented children of the STEAM club, led by the amazing Mrs Gabb, have showcased their creativity and innovation in the National Primary Engineer Award competition. All participants received well-deserved certificates for their hard work and ingenuity. Shortlisted entries from every year group in each region of the UK are submitted to judging panels to select the top two winners in each age category and recognise any outstanding contributions.

Special Mention: Jasleen, Year 2 Winner! 
We are overjoyed to reveal that Jasleen from Year 2 has emerged victorious among thousands of entries! Her brilliant design of a beehive that can be attached to every home to promote plant growth and bolster our precious bee population impressed judges and captured their hearts!

Congratulations Jasleen and Mrs Gabb!

Chess Awards

Mr Cheesman is filled with pride for his Chess club members who participated in a tournament throughout the last term. To recognise their efforts, he rewarded them all with chocolate bars, with the size increasing based on their tournament progress. Special congratulations to Shrey for being the overall winner and  winning the shield for the second year in a row!

Achievements:

Congratulations to Melia (Yr1) for her outstanding performance as the main character in the show "Gangsta Granny" alongside Arha at Beaconsfield, Stage Coach. Additionally, she had her first showcase with the Chiltern Cheetah’s team at Brunel University on Sunday. 

Congratulations to Anya (Year 4) for advancing her Taekwondo grading to the Yellow-Green Stripe Belt, achieving the 7th Kup level.

Congratulations to Kaiden (Yr6) for his achieving his grade 8 Violin exam certificate - what an amazing achievement!

Congratulations to Ameya (Yr 4) for completing her Violin Prep Test. Well done Ameya!

Congratulations to Avani (Yr 4), who passed her Grade 2 piano with Merit - she has worked really hard, we are so pleased for her.

Summer Reading Challenge

The Summer Reading Challenge launches in Slough on 16th July. This year’s Challenge will fire up children’s imaginations and inspire creativity through the power of reading.

The Summer Reading Challenge encourages children to keep reading during the school summer holidays – and to enjoy anything they like to read! Children aged 4 years and older can challenge themselves to read six books from the library over the summer and be rewarded with lots of stickers and free goodies along the way. Certificates and medals will be awarded to children who complete the Challenge. It’s free to join and suitable for all abilities.

Tulsi's Book Review

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Tulsi for her exceptional book reviews during her time at St. Bernard's Preparatory School. Thank you for motivating us all to indulge in more reading!

Ultimate Activity Camp

Ultimate Activity Camps are just around the corner this summer! Featuring over 40 thrilling sports, games, and creative activities for kids aged 4-11. With Ofsted registration and enthusiastic staff, it's the perfect opportunity for your children to learn new skills, make friends, and have a blast!

New Customers!  Join their mailing list to receive a 10% discount code

Dates:

• Summer – Monday 22nd July - Friday 23rd August 2024
• Book by the day or week
• Drop off 8:30 - 9:30
• Collect 16:30 - 17:15
• Move dates for FREE up until 14 days before

Keep an eye on their website for the latest offers and discounts for parents.

Refer A Friend – Get a Free Camp Day!

Invite a friend to join your child at camp and earn a free day for every booking at Ultimate Activity Camps or Ultimate Survival. It is that easy! Learn more and claim your free day here.

Booking Information:

Book your dates at Ultimate Activity for any duration, from a single day to a full week. You can change your dates without charge up to 14 days before the camp starts, depending on availability. They accept all childcare vouchers for added convenience.

Prize Draw Winners

Congratulations to the pupils below who were selected as the fortunate winners of the prize draw for a complimentary day at the Ultimate Activity Camp. They are in for an incredible experience, participating in various activities, acquiring new skills, and perhaps forming new friendships along the way!

Dylan in Early Years 2

Gurbaaz in Early Years 2

Pragati in Upper Prep 2

Sanya in Upper Prep 2

Zahra in Lower Trans 3

Sports

Lower Trans Swimming

During the Pentecost Term, our final group of Year 3 swimmers attended their weekly sessions and took part in a number of activities and assessments. The children all made good progress and demonstrated confidence and enthusiasm in the swimming pool. Over the course of 10 weeks we achieved 6 gold and 6 bronze accolades. Well done to all these children.

House Points

After a year of collating weekly house points, along with various other events and sporting activities, we were able to announce our overall House Winners for 2023/24.

As always, the competition was very tight right up until the very end. With 3071 points, JOHN were crowned the overall Winners of this academic year, with LUKE being the runners-up on 2946 points. MATTHEW was third with 2877 points and MARK with 2788 points came fourth.

Well done to all the children for their outstanding efforts and we look forward to more inter-house rivalry next year!