St Bernard's Preparatory School Parent Portal - Newsletter

Dear Parents,

Christmas has arrived! This week we have been feeling festive. Our Advent wreath is displayed in the hall, FOPS have kindly come and decorated the school and our youngest children set the bar very high for the rest of the festive season, by beginning with the most wonderful Big Little Nativity! For those grandparents and parents who joined us, and there were many, wasn't it amazing?! Sometimes I need to remind myself that these children are only aged between two and a half and five years old. They sing, they dance, they learn their lines by heart and this year accompanied their songs with British sign language! We are so delighted to share with you what the children have been working on, and it is rewarding to see so many proud parents enjoy the show. Thank you for all the donations to The Children's Society at the end of the Nativity - we raised £193.09.

For more photos of the Nativity please log on to the Parent Portal section of the school website on Monday.

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Magical School Trip

After receiving a letter from Albus Dumbledore by owl, Upper Trans (Year 5) caught the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 3/4 to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Well, almost... The owl was Royal Mail and The Hogwarts Express was a coach that got stuck in traffic, but don't let the muggle world get in the way of a magical experience. Our children loved visiting Professor Sprout's greenhouses, seeing the castle blanketed in snow and the Great Hall decked out for the Yule Ball. Upper Trans are studying the Nowhere Emporium as their class reader this term, which is another novel steeped in magic. As teachers, giving the children experiences to enliven their learning is a privilege and really enhances their education. The staff enjoyed it as much as the children!

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Celebrating Success

Congratulations to Jiya (Yr 4) for a fantastic score in her Mental Maths Abacus competition to and Pranay (Yr 2) for taking part in Eye Level Maths Olympiad. It is great to see such enthusiasm and dedication to maths. Well done!

Music Successes

Congratulations to all pupils who passed music exams this term. Please let the school know when children take their music exams, so we can celebrate their achievements.

Iyanu Yr 6 Piano prep test

Shyla Yr 6 Drums Grade 1 with distinction

Meraya Yr 5 Piano Grade 1 with merit

Himani Yr 5 Piano Grade 1 with distinction

Meraya Yr 5 Flute Grade 1 with merit

Joshua Yr 3 Piano Grade 2 with merit

Dhaani Yr 5 Piano Grade 2 with merit

Hasitha Yr 5 Piano Grade 2 with merit

Kabir Yr 6 - Drums Grade 2 with merit

Arjun B Yr 5 Piano Grade 3 with merit

Music lessons – January 2023

Music lessons are timetabled during class music lessons, lunchtimes and after school for half an hour.

Please note – Pupils will not be charged for homework club if waiting for a music lesson and will receive a drink and snack at the end of the school day.

If you would like your son or daughter to have music lessons next term, please complete and return the Instrumental Lesson Interest letter that can be found on the parent portal section of the school website. Please return the letter to reception electronically or print off and send into school.

At St Bernard’s Prep the music department have teachers for the following instruments:

Recorder - Year 2–6

Flute - Year 2-6

Clarinet - Year 3–6

Violin - Year 1–6

Piano - Year 1–6

Drum kit - Year 2– 6

Classical guitar – Year 3–6

Electric guitar - Years 5 and 6

Saxophone - Years 5 and 6

Love Christmas

Our Love Christmas Campaign, a national initiative connecting people of all faiths, has been given the best start by Harmani in Upper Prep (Year 2). Harmani has brought in a wonderful bag of gifts and treats to be be shared with someone in need at Christmas. We would love to add to the collection. If you are able to put together a bag of kindness it is a wonderful way to let people in our community know that we are thinking of them and that they are not alone.

We would be very grateful for any donations received, whether it be one item or several. Some ideas of things you could include:

Games and Toys

Sweet treats - mince pies, luxury biscuits, chocolates (eg selection boxes)

Winter clothing - scarves, hat, gloves, socks, fleece blanket, hot water bottle, insulated mug

Nail varnish, hand cream, luxury toiletries

Playing cards, jigsaw, puzzle books, board games, books

Colouring books, crayons, pens, notebooks

Christmas crackers, Christmas lights, Christmas activities games.

Please could you provide a pre-filled bag of kindness for one of the following categories:

Girl or boy:

Infants / Toddlers (0 - 3 years)
Pre-schoolers (3 - 5 years)
Middle Childhood (6 - 11 years)
Young Teens (12-14 years)
Teenagers (15-17 years)
Parents of struggling families
Elderly / Lonely (Man or Woman)

The deadline for donations is Friday 9th December, please bring in anytime up to this date.

Thank you for your help and support for this very worthwhile cause.

Miss B. Grogan and Mrs J.Hupalo

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Advent Calendars

This week the children all went home with their own chocolate Advent calendar to enjoy in the run-up to Christmas. It is a lovely school tradition, funded by FOPS. This year our Faith Ambassadors have come up with their own brilliant twist on an Advent calendar. Each class and staff member in the school has been given their own count-down Advent calendar, but instead of receiving a chocolate, or opening a square, each day is marked with an item - a packet of biscuits, some gravy granules, a Christmas pudding - to bring into school. All the items collected over the Advent period will be put into hampers and given to families in need by Father Kevin at Holy Family Church. Thank you for supporting this worthy cause.

Reminders and dates for your diary:

December

Monday 5th - Christmas Bazaar
Tuesday 6th - Panto (EYFS - Yr 1)
Wednesday 7th - Christmas Jumper Day, Christmas Lunch and Reindeer visit.
Thursday 8th - Panto (Yrs 2-6), Carol Singing, Windsor Royal Station - you are welcome to join us.
Wednesday 14th - End of Term

Mrs Verma's Big Ideas for Curious Minds

As a school we love to stretch and challenge our children, to enrich their education beyond the curriculum. Every week I will be sharing with you some discussion topics, new vocabulary, maths riddles and book recommendations, that will infect our children with a love of learning.