Newsletter – 13 October 2023 (copy 01) - Chard School | Independent Prep School in Chard South Somerset

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Friday 3 November 2023

Word from the Head, Katie Hill

The children have enjoyed their final week of the half term this week. On Monday we were pleased to welcome Pre-prep parents who joined their children in their phonic sessions. After these sessions the parents attended a workshop to discover how we teach phonics at our school. It was lovely to receive such positive feedback after these sessions and to hear how much the Pre-prep parents had gained from the experience. Thank you to our Pre-prep staff for organising these workshops for our parents.

In RS Harris enjoyed their own Shabbat celebration as part of their learning about Judaism. The children had a super time sharing a meal together and engaging in games as a class. Mrs Elmer would like to thank Joseph S. who was particularly enthusiastic about the Shabbat celebration and created his own Challah bread to share with his peers.

I have been delighted to conduct a range of Learning Walks across the school this week. It has been a privilege to join the children in their lessons and see the creative learning opportunities that they have been taking part in. I joined Harris for an exciting Science Session where the children were conducting an experiment to discover which was the hardest rock, meanwhile UC impressed me with their Spanish grammar. Harris were fully engrossed in their English Session exploring imperative verbs and adverbs on Wednesday. Yesterday UC demonstrated their creative flair in Art when they were working to create their own chairs from lessons learnt from making their prototype. I was also impressed with the ICT skills of LC and Harris yesterday, as they showed great cooperation and enthusiasm whilst working in pairs to develop their own game in Kodu. This afternoon I am looking forward to joining a Music Session. It has been a joy to see the wealth of learning opportunities experienced by our children this week, they have impressed me at every turn.

On Tuesday Harris Class were excited to be invited to a Cricket Development experience. This experience involved the children in working to develop their bowling, catching, throwing and batting skills through a variety of different challenges. Congratulation to Elin J. who accumulated an impressive 84 points across the challenges.

Miss Taswell was impressed with the dedication an application of the whole group, whose cricketing skills progressed significantly from the experience.

We were pleased to welcome some new parents with Pre-school aged children to our Tiddly Peeps Toddler Group and Mini Melody Makers Sessions this week. Mrs Battersby and Mrs Orr-Ewing are looking forward to welcoming parents back to these sessions again when they restart after half term.

Symes had lots of fun creating colourful bubble paintings this week. Mrs Battersby was impressed to see how many bubbles the children could blow and Symes were very excited to see their bubbles overflowing from their beakers! The children’s faces were a picture as they revelled in this experience.

Today our Pre-prep children arrived at school clad in their waterproofs ready for their day of Forest School at ROAM. They excitedly boarded the coach after the register and couldn’t wait to discover what the ROAM team had in store for them in the woods. We cannot wait to hear all about their woodland adventures on their return.

We return after half term on Monday 30th October. On Wednesday Madame Bartoli is running our Spanish Morning, which the children are already looking forward to and Mrs Battersby will welcome Pre-school aged children and their families to our ‘Tiddly Peeps Toddler Group’. On Thursday Mrs Orr-Ewing is running Mini Melody Makers and on Friday Pre-prep cannot wait to return to ROAM for Forest School.

Residential Trip Update

During the next half term we will be in a position to share the arrangements for the Chard School residential trip for this academic year. Since September we have been working with our previous supplier and exploring opportunities with new suppliers to ensure we have a residential experience that will be memorable for the children but equally offers value for money. A more detailed annoucement will follow in the next half term.

Calendar Events/Clubs 30 – 3 November

Calendar Events

Monday 30th October
HALF TERM ends @ 8.45am

Tuesday 31st October
Spooky Dance Competition @ Lifestyle FitnessStudio, 1.00pm to 3.00pm
Guest Assembly – ForeFront Community Centre

Wednesday 1st November
Spanish Morning
Tiddly Peeps, Pre-school children, 10.15am to 11.15am
Swimming @ Chard Leisure Centre from 2.15pm – Whole School
Stockland Races @ 4pm

Thursday 2nd November
Mini Melody Makers, Pre-School children – 10.15am to 11.15am

Friday 3rd November
ROAM Forest School @ 9.15am – 3.00pm – Pre-prep Classes
Celebration Assembly @ 3.10pm

Clubs

Monday
Circuits/Manhunt & Pirates – Yrs 3 – 6

Tuesday
Choir – All Years (2nd half of term only)

Wednesday
Manhunt & Pirates – Reception – Yr 2

Thursday
Latin Club – Yrs 4 -6

Friday
Music Ensemble – Yrs 3 – 6
Karate – Yrs 2 – 6

Everyday Clubs

Before Club 8 – 8.45am (included in School fees) Booking required

Prep Club 3.45 – 4.30pm (included in School fees) Booking required

After School Club 4.30 – 5.30pm (£5.75 Charge) Booking required

Reminders

As a matter of safety, please ensure that you always shut our school gate behind you.
Please ensure that your child brings a named water bottle to school daily.
Following our school ‘healthy snack’ guidelines, please send your child to school with a ‘healthy snack’ each day. Please remember that we are a nut free school.

Lunch menu

Please refer to week one on the MENU OPTIONS.

Congratulations to our award winners

Stars of the week

Pre Prep – Spencer M
Prep – Freya L

Mr Sills book recommendation

Michael Morpurgo’s Tales from Shakespeare

Featuring re-tellings of ten of Shakespeare’s plays, and beautifully written with Michael Morpurgo’s warm, accessible and inimitable style, this wonderful collection offers a new generation of readers the chance to discover the magic of Shakespeare – the perfect introduction to the Bard and an unmissable book for children.

Stunningly illustrated throughout with contributions from ten different artists, each with a special connection to the author. 9+

Old Cerdics Association

To view all recent OCA News Bulletins access the school website at chardschool.co.uk, click onto ‘About Us’ and scroll down to ‘Old Cerdics Association’ pages. Some wizened figures to start with taken at Maidenhead Rugby Club reunion lunch some years ago – all looking in good heart!!

Next major school event, after half-term – Remembrance Service in the school chapel at 9.30am Friday 10th November.