Newsletters

Newsletter 5th February 2021

Dear Parents,

This week is Children's Mental Health Week and it has never been more poignant. The last year has been incredibly tough for children and we have made it a priority to support the children of St Bernard's Prep emotionally, as well as in their education. Being resilient and learning strategies to cope with difficult situations is a life skill, and one we hope our pupils develop during their time at St Bernard's Prep. Today's assembly focused on happiness. We all find happiness in different ways, and this week Miss Mehta, our Wellbeing lead, has been helping the children to explore what makes them happy. We have loved seeing and hearing about what puts a smile on the children's faces, from baking and scooting, to knitting and singing. We've seen ballet and piano and cuddles with siblings. Seeing the children happy makes us happy, and that has got to be good for all our mental health.

Children's Mental Health Week

This week the children have risen to the challenge of expressing themselves and have been learning how to tap into their happiness and resilience.

Do visit the Wellbeing section on the school website, full of resources and videos and even a little Jackanory with Mrs Verma!

Ahoy Shipmates!

While schools are closed to all but the children of key workers, our Pre Early Years and Early Years classes remain open as a nursery setting. Last week we received some wonderful feedback after the children's swashbuckling adventures. Our Early Years Department is a brilliant start to the children's education at Prep, full of creativity and learning. If you know anyone who would like to join St Bernard's Prep we are currently accepting applications. Email admissions@stbernardsprep.org

Academic excellence

Our pupils at the top of the school have had a busy week. In Science, Year 5 are continuing their study of the Solar System and modelling how objects move in space. Year 6 made some blood soup on Thursday as they learn about the circulatory system.

In English, Year 5 have been working hard on their comprehension skills and have really enjoyed the opportunity to study a variety of texts linked to eco-awareness. They were so enthralled with how the power of numbers can seem insignificant within our every day life, but when that same number is applied to their environment it can tell a very different story.

Year 6 have been studying the poem The Dreadful Menace, which was used for the 2014 BBC Winter Olympics trailer. They have deepened their knowledge and understanding of figurative language and have also successfully used the poem’s theme of fear to create their own narrative using two different viewpoints – the athlete and fear itself. As always the children grabbed this challenge with both hands and have shown how they can create evocative pieces of writing using split internal monologues.

Perfect Puppetry

Year 3s have been learning how to plan, create and produce a puppet show during their DT lessons. Having learnt about the design and use of levers last term, pupils have created and designed two main animal puppets that can be controlled by wooden spatula lever handles. Year 3s have designed the scenery, stage and props for their animals using a variety of materials and colours. Having made their puppet shows pupils have written and acted out part of a story using their new animal puppet show. Well done Year 3!

PE/Games

Weekly IAPS Challenge

This week we once again participated in the weekly MILLION MONDAY IAPS challenge. This week it was star-jumps. Just like the bunny-hops, our aim was to break 20K and once again our children and staff surpassed this number comfortably with more than 25K star-jumps! Another phenomenal effort from our school - Well done everybody!

In next week’s challenge we would like all children to try and complete 1 mile of running, jogging or walking. Why not start it over the weekend!

RFU England International Rugby Player Webinar

This week St Bernard’s Prep was very fortunate to be represented at a Webinar with the England international scrum-half Ben Youngs. Ben gave a very motivational and inspirational message to all young people in encouraging them to always give their best, stay focussed but more importantly to enjoy and have fun in what they do. We wish Ben and the whole England Team all the best for the 6 Nations Championships which start this weekend.

Under 9 Virtual Football Festival

Every year we host our Annual Under 9 Football Festival at our school and due to the current lockdown we are unable to physically do so this year. This however has not stopped St Bernard’s Prep in hosting a Virtual Under 9 (Year 4) Football Festival which will also involve many other local prep schools . Over the course of the next 3 weeks our children in Year 4 will be working hard at practising their “Keepy-Uppies” and will be sending their scores in after half-term. The winning school will be announced on Friday the 26^th of February. Good luck St B’s!

Sport Stars of The Week

This week we would like to make a huge shout out to Akshay Vadlapatla in Upper Trans and Shaan Rai in Lower Trans for their outstanding efforts during their PE lessons and always taking up the challenge to complete their tasks to the best of their abilities. Well done to both of you!

Parents' evenings have started this week and will continue over the forthcoming week. It is great to hear all the positive feedback. We're delighted to have been able to maintain our high standards of education for the children, and to support their wellbeing during this challenging time.

Have a lovely weekend

Yours sincerely,

Mr N Cheesman