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St Bernard's Preparatory School - Newsletter 7th February 2025

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Dear Parents,

What an exhilarating week it has been as we celebrated Children's Mental Health Week! Every child in our school has actively participated in daily activities, diving deep into the theme of 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself' in partnership with the amazing characters from Disney's Inside Out 2. Our children have explored their feelings in a fun and engaging way. From creative arts to mindfulness exercises, they have truly embraced the journey of self-discovery and personal growth.

I would like to thank all the parents who attended Parents’ Evening this week. We truly value the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and celebrate their achievements together. Your support and partnership play a vital role in their learning journey, and we appreciate the time you took to meet with us.

On Wednesday, Upper Prep led our Candlemas Liturgy. The children delivered an outstanding performance, effectively conveying the significance of Candlemas to the entire school. Aveer read our Candlemas poem beautifully, and a heartfelt thank you to our school band for bringing an exciting rock flair to the hymns, enhancing the celebration even further. Great job to everyone who participated

Today, our school buzzed with creativity and collaboration during our exciting STEAM morning, where children explored Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths through hands-on projects. Early Years took inspiration from Julia Donaldson, engineering ways for the dog to cross the bog (The Smartest Giant in Town), mixing magical potions to fixing the witch’s broomstick (Room on the Broom), and designing a forest for The Gruffalo. Year 1 built villages in the UK and Africa, while Year 2 created their own creatures and habitats. Year 3 explored shape and structure, making impressive 3D models, and Year 4 carefully crafted Egyptian mummies using just pipe cleaners and one continuous piece of crepe paper. Meanwhile, Year 5 took on an entrepreneurial challenge, launching a washing machine building business, where they had to rent materials from Mrs. Young and Miss. Beale—learning valuable lessons in maths, budgeting, and problem-solving!

It was a fantastic morning of innovation, teamwork, and discovery—well done to all our young engineers, scientists, and artists! 

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Sponsored Dance Event for The Baby Bank’s 10th Birthday! 

This week, our children put on their dancing shoes for a fantastic sponsored dance event in support of The Baby Bank, celebrating their 10th anniversary! Every child took part, dancing for a full hour during their PE lesson—showing off incredible energy, enthusiasm, and some seriously impressive moves!

Mr. B was blown away by everyone’s effort and rhythm. A huge well done to all our dancers for taking part in this wonderful cause! There is still time to sponsor your child. Keep an eye on our Instagram for videos of the fun in action! 

Chess Tournament

Yesterday, we hosted an exciting regional qualifier for the English Chess Federation’s Primary Team Chess Challenge 2024/25. We were delighted to welcome teams from Thorpe House, Claires Court, Ravenscourt Park, and Upton House for an afternoon of intense and strategic competition.

Our two teams demonstrated fantastic skill and determination against strong opponents. After several hard-fought matches, we are proud to share that one of our teams secured an impressive 3rd place!

A huge congratulations to all our players for their teamwork and perseverance. We also extend our best wishes to Claires Court, who move forward to the next stage of the competition. Well done to everyone involved! 

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Wellbeing Weekend Wisdom

Children’s Mental Health Week's (3rd- 9th Feb, 2025) theme this year is Know yourself, Grow Yourself, it encourages children (and families) to develop self-awareness, recognise strengths, and build resilience. Here are some weekend family well-being tips linked to this theme:

1. Self-Discovery Activities (Know Yourself)

  • Strength Spotting Game: Ask each family member to name one strength they see in someone else. Discuss how those strengths help in everyday life.
  • Feelings Check-In: Use a "feelings chart" or simply ask, "What made you happy, proud, or challenged this week?" to help children understand emotions.
  • Vision Board Making: Use magazines, drawings, or words to create personal growth boards showing dreams, skills, and interests.

2. Growth Mindset Challenges (Grow Yourself)

  • Try Something New Together: Learn a simple skill (e.g., origami, baking, or a new sport) and celebrate effort, not just success!
  • "Yet" Challenge: When children say "I can't do it," encourage them to add "yet!" and discuss steps to improve.
  • Gratitude & Growth Journals: Write or draw one thing you’re grateful for and one thing you’re working on improving.

3. Express Yourself (Confidence & Creativity)

  • Creative Storytelling: Ask children to imagine themselves as superheroes—what is their unique power, and how do they use it?
  • Music & Movement: Let kids choose songs that match their mood or create a family playlist that reflects everyone’s personality.
  • Role-Playing Resilience: Act out common challenges (like making mistakes or losing a game) and practice positive ways to handle them.

4. Family Bonding for Growth (Support & Reflection)

  • Weekend Walk & Talk: Go for a family walk and ask reflection questions like, “What’s one thing you’re proud of this week?”
  • Cooking as a Team: Assign roles in the kitchen to practice patience, teamwork, and responsibility.
  • Mindfulness Moments: Try deep breathing, stretching, or a “calm corner” where children can relax and reset.

5. Give Back & Grow Together (Kindness & Community)

  • Random Acts of Kindness: Each family member picks one way to help someone else this weekend.
  • Gratitude Circle: Before bed, everyone shares one thing they appreciate about another family member.
  • Growth Pledge: Write a short family commitment—“This week, we will work on… (patience, kindness, learning new things, etc.)”
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Music Opportunities

Woodwind Lessons

There are currently still a few places left for children to take up regular Woodwind (Clarinet, Flute and Saxophone) lessons in school.  

Learning a woodwind instrument is a great social and fun way to learn to play music, as these instruments give children the opportunity to play in groups with other like-minded musicians, whilst still encouraging all the other life skills that learning a musical instrument gives us (motor and co-ordination skills, listening skills, reading skills, counting skills, multi-tasking skills, music appreciation skills ....), the list is endless!  

If you are keen for your child to take up this amazing opportunity to learn one of these instruments, please fill in the form in the Parent Portal and return it to reception.  Places will be taken on a 'first come, first served' basis, so please don't leave it too long before applying as your child may miss out.  Your child may well be the next Benny Goodman, James Galway or Charlie Parker of today!

Singing Lessons

We are very excited to announce that a new music teacher will be joining the department in the next few weeks.  Miss Parker is a vocal specialist and will be offering singing lessons to our children alongside our other peripatetic teachers.  Miss Parker writes: “I have been teaching singing in a number of schools and other venues for over 20 years.  As an experienced singing teacher I enjoy helping my pupils to find the full potential of their voice. My aim is to ensure that singers develop a healthy vocal technique and are then able to apply this to singing the music they enjoy. I coach my pupils in a wide range of musical styles including opera, art song, musical theatre and pop and support them in achieving their goals whether it is to pass exams, perform or just enjoy singing.”  If you would like your child to start singing lessons, please complete one of our music forms which can either be picked up from the school office or downloaded from the Parent Portal.  This is a very exciting opportunity and Dr Bunce is thrilled to welcome Miss Parker to the team.

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Sports News

Years 3 & 4 Football Teams vs Upton House and Eton End

On Friday the 31st of January, our Year 3/4 A+B football teams travelled to the Royal Holloway University in Surrey to play in a triangular fixture vs Upton House and Eton End. It was an amazing experience for our boys to be able to participate on a 4G pitch and use their state of the art facilities too. Against Upton House, our A team narrowly lost 0-1, while our B team lost 1-2, after an equalised goal from us was disallowed.  Both of our teams bounced back against Eton End with our A team winning 2-0 and our B team winning 3-0. Our players thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were great ambassadors for their schools.  Niko, Varun, Ari and Sohan were all nominated as MVPs on the day. Well done to all the players.

Under 9A+B Football vs Dair House

On Tuesday, our under 9A and B Football teams travelled to Farnham Royal to play against Dair House. Our Under 9A team played superbly well throughout the afternoon, winning their game 2-1. Well done to all the players, and a special congratulations to Ryan who was the MVP for the team.  Our Under 9B team also came out as convincing winners, winning 9 - 2 overall. Congratulations to the team and to Avi for his MVP performance. 

Under 9A+B Netball vs Dair House

On Tuesday, our Under 9 Netballers welcomed Dair House School. Our players all played wonderful netball on the day, linking up well, intercepting the opposition’s ball on numerous occasions and also scoring plenty of good goals. Both of our teams played a total of three games each, with our A team winning 13-0, while our B team beat their opponents 5-1. Congratulations to both teams for their outstanding performances and special congratulations to Ameya and Zahra for being nominated as the MVPs on the day.

Year 6 Mixed Netball vs Langley Hall

On Wednesday, our Year 6s welcomed Long Close School for an afternoon of mixed netball matches. Both teams put up an amazing effort with our SKY Team winning 13- 2, and our NAVY team winning 25-2. Both teams have worked exceptionally hard during their PE lessons and these results are testament to the great progress they have made. All the players were outstanding on the day, with both Christina and Sahar being nominated as the MVPs for their respective teams. Well done everyone!

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Have a wonderful weekend practising your dance moves ready for the Valentines disco next week...I can't wait!

Mrs Asha Verma

Headteacher