“If we needed a refresher on how busy the Summer Term can whip into, we were offered it this week! All around the Pre-Prep and Nursery we have been deep in preparing and enjoying trips, visits, and events for both children and our parent community. So now, if we could only turn the sunshine up a notch, we would be set fair for the joyful experiences of the final weeks of this academic year.
“Year 1 have seen a good amount of our minibus team this week, as they travelled to and from the Junior School pool every day for their intensive week of swimming. It is easy to see the level of enjoyment and expectation to get in the pool as the children play at lunchtime, with half an ear on the whistle, expectant and swift to line up, gather swim kits, and be so smart and ready in the line knowing how this speeds up the process of being ‘first in’! Well done children, on your super quick changing and great progress in the pool!
“Nursery parents may have seen the developing Viking scene come to life in the Nursery playground this week at collections and drop-offs. We know, as educators, the learning value of a simple cardboard box, which can be as varied as a child’s imagination can make it! This week, following the delivery of new furniture, the cardboard boxes have been repurposed as Viking longship, oars, and even Viking helmets with horns! The latest development is a carefully crafted figurehead for the bow of the boat. What great adventures await!
“Year 2 continued with their transition programme this week, with a trip to the Monastic Barn for lunch. This was heralded as a great success, with much excitement about the range of food on offer, and we offer a huge ‘thank you’ to the Catering Team there for making everyone so welcome.
“Our Reception children are busy chatting this morning about the wonderful trip they went on yesterday to the beach and Hunstanton Sealife Centre. It sounded idyllic! Following some marine life learning, the children enjoyed a wonderful few hours playing happily on the beach, accompanied by a picnic lunch and ice creams. Their teachers were full of praise about the super behaviour and lovely conversations the children enjoyed together.
“Following the Nursery ‘At Home’ this morning, I was pleased to join parents for the first of our Nursery Workshops. Thank you to Lucy Taylor-Dixon, who heads up our King’s Ely Welfare Team, for joining us and leading the discussion on ‘managing transitions’. It is such a relevant part of children’s lives, and also of the parents who support them, and so how we broach the subject of change, support anxiety and indeed, manage our own, were well discussed today.
“Before we race to the final week of this half term, we look forward to our Reception children concluding the intensive weeks of swimming, and it will be a busy week for Year 2 as they prepare for their Recital Concert on Wednesday 24th May. This event is the culmination of many hours of practise, and requires all the braveness and confidence that can be mustered, as our young musicians perform to an audience for the first time.
“In contrast, Year 2 will then jump on the minibuses for a jolly trip to Cambridge and the Botanic Gardens on Thursday, and we are very grateful to Mrs Riches, in her capacity as a member of the Botanic Garden specialists, who has kindly offered to act as our guide and reveal the highlights and quieter spots which make the site such a special place to visit.
“With my best wishes for a happy and restful weekend.”