Newsletters

Dear Parents,

What a magical and festive week we have had here at St Bernard's Prep School. The children have been busy enjoying a host of seasonal activities, and we are delighted to share some highlights with you.

Last Friday, the children had a wonderful time at the Christmas Bazaar. The event was filled with beautiful cakes, lots of sweets and toys, and, of course, the annual raffle. A huge thank you to our amazing FOPS team who helped make the day so special!

On Tuesday, we took our annual trip to Windsor Theatre Royal to watch the Dick Whittington pantomime. The children were enchanted by the performance and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. After the theatre, our KS2 children brought holiday cheer to Windsor Royal Station with their beautiful carolling. Their heartfelt singing was a true highlight of the season.

Wednesday was a day full of joy and togetherness. The children arrived in festive Christmas jumpers and started the day with a celebration assembly. Dr. Bunce concluded the assembly with a melody of Christmas songs, and everyone joined in with a lively sing-along. A delicious Christmas lunch followed, and then it was time for the Christmas Party, complete with a disco in the hall. EYFS and KS1 children also visited the gallery to meet Santa, who handed out gifts generously provided by FOPs. A special mention must go to Mrs. Gabb, Mr. B, and Mr. Hawkes for their impressive dance moves—clearly the best dancers of the day! The entire day was filled with cheer and happiness.

This morning, the entire school visited the chapel at St. Bernard’s Grammar School, where we were joined by Father Kevin for a re-enactment of the Nine Lessons and Carols. The singing was absolutely beautiful, and we were honoured to have an amazing adult choir that included Mrs. Whittaker, Mrs. Kimberley, Mrs. Beale, and Mrs. Nockles, our Chair of Governors. It truly was the perfect way to conclude this festive week.

Thank You for Your Incredible Generosity

We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to every one of you for your incredible generosity and support. Your donations have made a real difference in our community, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

To everyone who contributed to the Slough Food Bank, your generosity has made a significant difference by providing essential supplies to those in need.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to our Early Years parents, who donated 50 gift bags containing pyjamas, a book, and a chocolate treat to the Windsor Baby Bank. Your thoughtful gifts brought warmth, comfort, and joy to young children during this special season.

We are also deeply grateful to everyone who donated a Bag of Kindness. Thanks to your compassion, we collected 60 bags for a range of age groups, spreading care and support to those who need it most. I want to specially mention Ari and Sohan our twins in Lower Transition. They donated a bag of kindness each and ensured that both their bags were identical. They wrote a beautiful letter explaining how important it was as a twin to get the same gifts. I also want to thank the Child Leadership Team for their assistance in sorting and tagging all of our bags. 

Your thoughtfulness is truly inspiring and reflect the strong and caring community we are privileged to be a part of. Together, we have shown how small acts of kindness can add up to make a huge impact.

Thank you once again for your continued generosity and support.

TTRockstars interhouse tournament

Last week at Prep, children from Year 2 to Year 6 have been busily mastering their times tables with energy and determination. The highlight of our mathematical endeavors has been the exciting TT Rockstars interhouse tournament—a thrilling competition where only the house with the quickest and most accurate times tables could claim the top spot!

Our talented children answered an incredible total of over 121,000 questions, earning hundreds of house points for their teams. The enthusiasm and drive displayed throughout the week were truly inspiring, with children and staff alike bringing their competitive spirit to the fore.

A huge congratulations goes to everyone who participated—you have shown brilliant focus, teamwork, and resilience. It's been amazing to witness the effort, camaraderie, and excitement across the school.

And now, for the moment we’ve all been waiting for—the final scores!

🏆 1st Place: Matthew
🥈 2nd Place: John
🥉 3rd Place: Mark
🎖 4th Place: Luke

Well done to Matthew for claiming the top spot and to all the houses for their incredible effort. Let’s keep practising and aiming high!

Achievements

Congratulations to Harmani (Trans K) for her outstanding performance at the annual Swim Gala at her swimming school, where she won a Gold Medal in both of her races. Well done, Harmani!

Congratulations to Arha and Melia (Upper Prep V) for their outstanding performances in the lead roles of their Stagecoach production of The Grinch. They showcased remarkable talent and confidence on stage! I can personally confirm that they are both quite dramatic in class too.

Congratulations to Ira from Upper Trans B on passing her Grade 1 Guitar exam with distinction! We are incredibly proud of your musical achievements.

Congratulations to Sanya (Lower Trans U) for advancing to the next round of the BBC 500 Word Challenge!

Yoga for Parents In January

I'm very excited to offer yoga to the parents at our wonderful school. The school is very supportive of the activity and have agreed to let me hire the hall so I can offer this to you all. Starting in January 2025, this is a great way for you to kick start 2025 with new intentions full of self care. As this is a brand new initiative at St Bernard's Prep, all classes in January will be offered free of charge (16, 23, 30 January). Thereafter, just £8 per class. Message me on 07557 391 890 to join. Please note, classes are suitable for all levels - whether you are a seasoned yogi, or you've always wanted to give it a go - everyone is welcome. Look forward to seeing you on the mat! Best wishes for the festive season - Kamil

House Points Advent 2024

This term, our children have once again worked hard to collect as many points as they could for their respective Houses, competing for the prestigious House Shield. The House Points are awarded in various categories, such as:

1. A very good piece of schoolwork or homework.
2. Being helpful to others, both children and adults.
3. Performing good deeds or gestures.
4. Maintaining a tidy uniform, desk, and locker.
5. Showing politeness and good manners.
6. Success in inter-house competitions including sporting activities, TT Rockstars and reading challenges.

The competition has been fierce, and the final scores were incredibly close. A huge congratulations to House Mark, who emerged as the overall winners this term. House Luke claimed 2nd place, House Matthew came in 3rd, and House John secured 4th place.

Well done to all the children for their fantastic efforts in maintaining the spirit of inter-house rivalry! We look forward to even more exciting competitions throughout the year, including Football, Netball, Rounders, and Athletics.

SPORT NEWS

Sports Summary – Advent Term 2024

It has once again been a very busy time for our Sports teams across KS2 this term. In total we have participated in 85 competitive matches against other Prep schools, with a very good rate of success. All in all, we have played 20 rugby matches, 14 Hockey matches, 20 Football matches and 31 Netball matches in only 2 and a half months! On top of this we have also participated in both the Under 9 and 11 Netball Tournaments at The Marist School in Ascot, as well as an Under 9 Rugby Festival at Caldicott in Farnham Royal.

It has been phenomenal to see all our children in these age groups participate with great enthusiasm and determination, with every child getting the opportunity to represent the school’s teams on at least 2 or more occasions.   

Our statistics speaks volumes for the amount of work and effort the children a have put in,  and also the enjoyment and success they have achieved. We are immensely proud of all our teams for these achievements.

SPORT	Matches Played	Tries/Goals (Per Game)
RUGBY	20	106 (5)
HOCKEY	14	28 (2)
FOOTBALL	20	68 (3)
NETBALL	31	101(4)

We now  look forward to the Lent term which promises to be even more exciting and even busier than what we have had in this Advent Term.