After many months and years of planning I am delighted to be able to formally announce that our new Nursery School building will be opening in September. Please watch the video clip below to give you a better understanding of this amazing project! We are all incredibly excited.

Our brilliant Nursery team do a fantastic job, but this project will greatly enhance all that they do and allow us to significantly increase the scale and quality of our provision.

The new Nursery School will be built on the site currently occupied by Clare House (opposite Lake House) where I currently live! This area will have become a building site by the time you return after half term. We have worked very hard to ensure that there is minimal disruption throughout the 9 month build and I will keep you informed of progress throughout.

It has been a brilliant and hugely enjoyable half term. For the first time in nearly two years we have been running, essentially, as normal. This has brought significant benefits to children, parents and staff alike and we very much hope this will continue through to Christmas. Obviously, we have had a number of COVID-19 cases, and we will continue to manage these and keep you fully informed. We know that the second half of term will be challenging as normal coughs and colds become more prevalent in winter.

Our COVID Management Group is meeting regularly to make key decisions on mitigating actions. We will continue to consider putting in place additional measures if we need to in the coming weeks, but we will let you know if we plan to do that in due course.

For all children in Years 7 & 8 we ask that you continue to support our COVID-19 testing regime over the next two weeks:

Please ensure LFT tests are completed by your children twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday)

Please ensure your child takes an additional test on the morning of their return to The Prep. There is no government facilitated mass testing regime this time.

If your child develops COVID-19 over half term, it is very important that you let us know at covidsupport@cheltenhamcollege.org. They will need to isolate for 10 days before returning to The Prep, but if that means they will return late, we will contact them to ensure they have academic work to complete, unless they are unwell.



Vaccination update

All pupils who are 16 and over have been offered vaccinations in our local vaccination centre

We have been in contact regularly with the Local Authority about their time frame for vaccinations of 12-15 year olds

We have been told that we will be contacted after half term, and we will be provided with consent forms which will be sent out to all parents

Vaccinations are likely to be offered here at College by the local NHS team in the last two weeks of November

No pupil will be vaccinated without the express consent of parents

The programme and rota for vaccinations will be handled very carefully and sensitively to ensure the welfare of all pupils is protected


Finally, I would just like to say a big thank you to the whole school community, our outstanding staff, the children who have been brilliant, and to you as parents. The support you have all given to the school has allowed the magic to be back in the childrens' lives - it truly has been a wonderful few weeks.

Thank you all and have a relaxing and restful half term (while I have my house knocked down!!)

Tom

Take a look at the video to see a glimpse of what we have been up to this half term at The Prep!

This video will give you all an insight into the Chadwick Programme from this half term. As you can see, its been a busy few weeks for our Year 8 pupils, who have been taking part in a different workshop every Thursday after school!

Congratulations to the following pupils who have collected 25 Scoobie Awards this week:
Alexander A, Bertram C, Olivia H, Jasper P, Charlie B, William B, Bali S, Callen F, Sienna W, Monty W, Elizabeth H, Holly T, Issi R and
William Y

The following pupils have collected an impressive 50 Scoobie Awards this week:
George D, Emily F, Rowan F, Zandra G, Nehad J, Eliza K, Callum K, Joshua L, Samuel L, Valentine McP, Hamish M, Jasmine R, Jasmine W and Oscar D

Well done to the following pupils who have collected 75 Scoobie Awards this week:
Oliver A, Seren A, Helena A, James F, Aggie M, Myrtle L, Josh M-K, Mary T and Eden R

We also have two pupils who have made it to 100 Scoobie Awards this week! Well done to:
Hayato O and Nicholas F

Pupils have been out and about all week at the Cheltenham Literature Festival! We are so lucky to have this fantastic festival right on our doorstep, and pupils from all year groups have been spending time off timetable, enjoying various talks from celebrated authors and poets. Whilst at the festival, pupils in Years 5 and 6 were also kindly given a Rowan tree to plant at school from The Woodland Trust!

This week was an extremely exciting week for our Music department in Lake House, as pupils from various year groups were joined by the English Symphony Orchestra for an entire day of workshops.

During the String workshop, our pupils had the opportunity to learn more about conducting an orchestra, with some of them even giving it a go. Others got to experience a Double Bass workshop and had so much fun creating an impromptu Jazz piece together!

It was great to see some of our Year 8 string players helping out in our Lower School string group. Year 8 pupils have been learning the importance of being good role models in their Chadwick Programme sessions, and to see this in action was fantastic.

Thank you to all those who joined us on Thursday evening for a beautiful service in Chapel. It was lovely to see our robed choir singing so well.

It's always a joy to see our little ones from Nursery venturing out to Forest School in search of wildlife. Pupils always love the chance to go on an adventure and make the most of the school site. Here are a few photos from this week!

Reception took a trip out to Bath Road Recycling Centre this week and learnt more about why it is so important to recycle!

Reception have been learning about 'positional language' this week - here they are showing us all what it looks like to be above, below, under, on... the list goes on!

Year 1 enjoyed an Autumnal walk spotting signs of Autumn. This will help to get their creative juices flowing in readiness for their Autumn poetry writing!

Year 1 loved visiting Forest School today and discovered a super surprise...... a new mud kitchen designed and made by our clever Year 12 pupils! Thank you Year 12!

STEM club were given the challenge of building a structure using lollipop sticks and pegs. They all came up with different ideas!

Year 3 pupils visitied Year 1 this week and read them their fantastic Roald Dahl inspired poems. Our Year 1 children loved listening to all of the funny poems, and are looking forward to giving it a go when they get to Year 3!

During their Year 3 French lessons, pupils have been learning to translate colours and body parts. Together they read 'Le Grand Monstre Vert' and then made up their own terrible looking monster. The children had to give their monster a name and then label the colours of the different body parts in french.

The music was pumping and the moves were looking good in this week's Lower School Street Dancing session!

Pupils in Lower School took some time out this week to take part in a Mindfulness Art Session. Pupils were encouraged to relax and clear their minds of any worries or stresses they may have had that day whilst simply drawing or colouring.

Lower School pupils were putting up tents, exploring the site and building 'stickmen' (as inspired by one of their class books) this week. Pupils were also learning about the different varieties of tree that we have on campus and taking lots of lovely photographs of nature.

During the Open Morning, pupils were taking part in all manner of Space themed activities. Here are some of our pupils enjoying a Space themed poetry writing lesson - listening to space themed music whilst using books to research space and then write their own poems to recite at the end of the session.

After the return of our main games, it was wonderful to re-launch our minor games programme on Thursday night. Our Junior Cross Country team went to the first leg of the District XC Championships whilst our Senior Swim Team had a great win in a gala at Wycliffe. Well done everyone!

We hope you enjoy this fantastic rendition of 'Never Enough' from the musical 'The Greatest Showman', sung by a few of our Year 6 girls. This was rehearsed in break times and excellently performed in the Middle School assembly this week.

Our Year 8 pupils were getting creative this week whilst making some beautiful jewellery in the Art studio!

Last week our pupils enjoyed a baking session creating banana and chocolate chip cupcakes with Mrs Avery, as well as taking part in all of the usual board games including a fierce competition of backgammon.

Each week we bring you a quick Q&A with a member of staff here at The Prep. This week, we found out more about Mrs Gidman, our new Year 3 class teacher, who joined us in September.

What's the best bit about your job?

Every day is different. The children make me laugh every day and it's lovely to see their response when they achieve something. Their energy is what keeps me going and the days and weeks fly by.

What are your hobbies outside of school?

I love anything outside, skiing is my favourite type of holiday and I love sport. Walks with my family. Cinema and meals out with friends.

What is your favourite book and why?

I don't have a favourite book. I love reading anything that is light-hearted and easy going. Something I can get lost in, but then instantly forget.

Tell us an interesting fact about you?

I lived and worked abroad for several years in France and Australia and loved travelling around the world.

If you have any news that you would like to share in an upcoming edition of Prep Connected, please email Katie Smith (Marketing Manager) at:
k.smith@cheltenhamcollege.org

We hope you all have a lovely half term, and we shall see you in a couple of weeks for more Prep fun!