News from Middle Prep

We are stepping ever closer to the end of term, and I can’t believe that it is already the 1st of December.  One thing is certain, it is starting to feel festive around school! The Christmas tree has been adorned with lights and decorations in our Reception area, and beautiful carols have been rehearsed in Bridewell Choir. 

Our Christingle service on Monday was a lovely way to begin our festive season.  The children behaved impeccably and it was just magical watching the children holding their lit candles.  It was lovely to welcome our youngest members of Barrow Hills into the service and they looked around in awe of the older children.  Year 6 had the opportunity to lead and be role models and they did extremely well. I told the story of Christingle, with the help of my little helper, Mia. What a lovely ‘first’ service for Barrow Hills, and one that will now become a tradition. 

The Autumn Concert was also a particular highlight.  It was wonderful to see so many polished performances.  The children should feel rightly proud, whether they were part of an ensemble, choir or indeed, a soloist.  Having the opportunity to perform in front of an audience requires confidence and that was in abundance, so thank you to our wonderful Music Department for instilling this in the children.  The lunchtime piano recital was another opportunity for the children to perform in front of an audience, and I was again impressed with the level of skill the children displayed.  There are so many reasons why learning an instrument is invaluable, and I would encourage children to make use of the Bridewell Shining Stars Programme to take a leap into the musical world. 

Our Year 6 children had an informative session this week on interview techniques.  We discussed types of questions asked, how to shape a response and how to show enthusiasm. We talked about nerves and how it was ok to feel nervous, but we looked at some tips on how to disguise this. 

In Year 4, tribal slides were created and presented in geography and the water cycle investigated during their science lessons. In English, they have enjoyed sharing their beautifully written story openers, and I must say, these drew the audience in.

Parent consultations for Year 3 and Year 4 werend get a photoof a welcome opportunity to discuss the learning and progress of the children.  Thank you for your continued support.

We ended the week with a lovely assembly from 4R about advent celebrations around the world.  Well done to the children for presenting to us in a confident manner.  At the end of the assembly, I read out a letter sent to us from the North Pole.  It introduced us to a rather special visitor, a cheeky elf called Buttons.  This elf has been sent to us to keep an eye on all the children and report back to Father Christmas for the remainder of the term.  You might be hearing about the mischief that Buttons gets up to, as I hear he can be a little bit of a pickle!