Summer Bliss

Published on: Friday, June 24, 2022

Cricket, sunshine, post exam trips, water ventures and acres of outside playing are all the lovely aspects of a vibrant summer term.  What a treat to be sharing in such childhood pleasures and experiences.

Music exams as well as Speech and Drama exams have been taking place in the Woodard Room with plenty of slightly edgy individuals in advance of their turn exiting the room with a beaming smile on their face: nerves managed and now a little wiser about how to use such feelings to their advantage for a future challenge.  So much energy and enthusiasm go into their creative efforts and I hear the outcomes aren’t too shabby either.

Year 7 return in the morning, and in just seven school days, they will be the top year in the school.  Today, most of Year 8 have spent time getting a feel for what life will be like as the youngest year again having enjoyed Induction Day on the senior site.

We continue to have new joiners for September come and spend time here and so we are in that zone where we’re focusing on ending this cycle strongly but peeking around the corner at the next exciting phase ahead.

The general busyness of Prize Day speeches and end of term letters to come mean there will be no more than a brief nod or photo in this item next week - so farewell from HEADlines for this academic year.

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Comings and Goings

Published on: Friday, June 17, 2022

Aloha. You probably know this is used for Hello and Goodbye and today is a day of hello and goodbye for many children.  Hello to Year 8 after a brilliant week near and around the moors of South West of England and goodbye to Year 7 as they head to the Alps in the Mid East of France.

The weather is pretty similar in both venues being hot and then variable. It is so good to be running our French trip again for the first time in three years.  Well done to staff and parents who have had to respond to admin demands which have come in many layers this time:  Covid repercussions and European alterations have certainly made the process more complex.

Using ‘Aloha’ as a reason to dwell within the Polynesian islands (wouldn’t that be nice for the weekend!), there is a ripple of anticipation in Year 7 as their play for next term was announced.  Disney release a few of their shows with permission to be performed in a Junior version and Moana Jr will hit the stage here next term.  I’m delighted and will certainly be toe-tapping as the tunes ring around the school.

This afternoon’s show also involved a boat – one a little larger than Maui’s – and thank you to Year 4 who gave us such a fun presentation of the story of Noah’s Ark making sure to incorporate the two themes of Arts Week appropriately.  Animals and puppets have been very much part of the week from the very first day when a terrific puppet show by The Bluebirds Theatre Company kicked us off.  There is more on Arts Week in the Newsletter to feast upon and congratulations are due to the organisers for drawing together such a wonderful programme for the children.

Good wishes for a brief weekend break for everyone before the final fortnight of the school year. 

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Busy, busy, busy

Published on: Friday, June 10, 2022

Plenty of activity already with which to kick off this last session of the year, with even more to come as Arts Week or Okehampton are lying just around the next corner.

I have enjoyed being dragged from pillar to post on various matters as it means you become immersed in the whole range that encompasses life in a thriving Prep school: from Nursery children spilling their pudding all over their shirts to Year 8 flexing their cerebrums and Governors’ meetings in the Woodard Room to discussions about our overseas schools to confirmation of summer works on the estate via several stops in between, there is not much left uncovered.  I’ve also squeezed in a dentist appointment.

Talk in Governors’ meetings is generally forward looking and so inevitably I’ve been thinking about life beyond the end of term.

The summer works’ list will have many items of maintenance and improvement on it, of course, but you will interested to hear it also includes an uplift to both some of the boarding areas as well as the Year 1 and 2 classrooms. These will make a big difference to the children’s experience

Also new in September will be a few staff and we have recently had Alistair Wilkinson (Dep Head Academic) and Theo Frost (Science) visit us. The number of pupil joiners continues to increase and we have seen lots of children come for induction or taster days and all full of smiles.

Anyhow, that’s all to come - do click the link below to have a look at some of what has happened in the last week.

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