Children of Pre-Prep show inter-

est in re-enacting bus play. Using

Birkenhead School’s minibus,

Dylan acts out the role of a bus

driver, driving his passengers to

Manchester.

I hope you like our first

e-newsletter, which is

intended not as an

alternative to the termly

In Focus Magazine, but

rather as a mid-term

snapshot of what’s

happening in Prep.

I’ve been delighted by

the warm welcome I

have received from

pupils, parents, staff and

governors. I had the

privilege over the first half-

of-term of observing every

teacher in class and I have

been very impressed by

the standard of teaching

and learning, as well as

the pupils’ enthusiasm for

all that they undertake.

As we embark on the last

month of the school year,

I look forward to meeting

many more parents at

the wonderful summer

events we have

planned. May the sun

shine on the second half

-of-term and all good

wishes in particular to

Year 6, as they reach

the culmination of their

time in Prep.

H. FitzHerbert

Welcome from the new Head of Prep

All Aboard!

June 2013

The Prep Times

A Big Thank

You To The PA

Many thanks to the

Parents’ Association

for the outdoor table-

tennis table in Junior

Prep Playground,

which will certainly

add an exciting new

dimension to break

times. Thanks also

for the Prep Bingo

after school on 21st

May, which was very

well attended and

terrific fun.

Shaping up Y1 Trip

P2

Little School Clubs Roman Invasion Calligrapher Visit

P3

Y5 Cricket Y6 Adventure Trip

P4

Summer Concert

P5

Diary Dates

Inside this

issue:

Pre-Prep children demonstrate imaginative

role play by creating their own bus.

They spontaneously sing, “The Wheels on

the bus go round and round...all day long!”

Reception pupils have been

learning about three dimensional

shapes. They have been exploring

shapes around them and have

enjoyed investigating the properties

of these shapes.

Page 2 The Prep Times

Shaping Up in Reception

place hundreds of years ago. After

experiencing some of the weather

Kim had been describing, the

adults and children dried off inside

the station and saw the latest life-

boat (The Lady of Hilbre). It too

had been on many rescues during

its 21 years of service at Hoylake.

Reluctantly, the children left the

warm station and were soon back

on the bus to go to a church hall

for lunch. The sun was beginning

to peek through the clouds and all

the teachers began to feel a little

more positive about their chances

of visiting the seaside. Beginning

to get restless, Cara Curtis said,

“Has the sun come out enough

for us yet?” With trepidation,

Miss Ault glanced out through

the stained glass window. The

sun was out and the clouds had

disappeared, so they set off

again to the seaside at New

Brighton. The children enjoyed

their quiz and found out a lot

about the seaside.

Come rain or shine!

At the end of the day Mr

Smith commented, “It was a

shaky start but we are a

determined bunch and knew

we would get to the seaside,

come rain or shine!”

Year 1’s adventure started on a

cold and wet Friday Morning.

They had been promised a

morning at Hoylake Lifeboat

Station and an afternoon at the

seaside, but due to the weather

this didn’t look likely. The teach-

ers, Mr Smith, Mrs Winn, Miss

Ault and Mrs Pye set off with

their classes trying to keep the

mood upbeat. They arrived at

the Lifeboat Station around

10am and had a quick snack

before starting their tour. Whilst

shivering in the rain, Kim (the

Lifeboat man), told them about a

heroic rescue that had taken

The Reception playground is also taking shape. Following the success of the alphabet letters last year, a sixth form student, Tom Weller, has created a piece of bespoke playground furniture for the Reception children to enjoy. The design incorporates seating and planting areas whilst also providing storage. The staff and children of Reception would like to thank Tom and Mr Guinness, Head of Design Technology.

Page 3

Pupils in the Years 1 and 2 Arts and Crafts Club have thoroughly enjoyed helping prepare for this year’s Summer Show. The children have been using a variety of materials to create the scenery for this spectacular bonanza on Friday 28th June.

workshop. I was one of the lucky

pupils in Year 6 chosen to take

part. Yuki demonstrated how to

use the equipment and we were

very impressed with her writing.

We were then put into small

groups and taught how important

it was to have good posture, to sit

up straight and hold the brush at

the correct angle. We then

wrote our names in Japanese.

Yukiko Ayres presented a

workshop for a group of Year

6 pupils, prior to taking part in

the Two Rivers Festival. The

children were taught how to

construct the brush strokes to

create their own name in

Japanese Calligraphy.

Thank you to Anushri for the

following report:

On Friday 12th May calligrapher

Yukiko Ayres came to our school

to do a Japanese Calligraphy

The Prep Times

Japanese Calligrapher Visits BPS

Summer Spectacular

was excellent.” The day was such a great

success, pupils have been

pleading for a Viking day for

our current topic.

packed day included dressing up as Celtic Warriors, archaeological digging, sorting artefacts and painting woad designs onto their faces. Workshop leader Tony Cope said, “I was so impressed with the children’s knowledge, interest and enthusiasm and their behaviour

Year 3 finally had the opportunity to experience their inspiring Celt and Roman workshop, after snow caused the cancellation of last term’s event. The children enjoyed a full day of hands-on and interactive activities, to enhance their learning from the previous two terms. The action-

Isabella Heckstall-Smith

commented, “It was brilliant.

I loved dressing up as a

Roman!”

Snow delays Roman invasion

Also, the Year 2 Summer Games Club has gone from strength to strength. Rounders has now become more tactical, skilled and competitive. Pupils have responded positively to the introduction of the new rules and are overflowing with confidence in this sport. Well done Summer Games Club!

“We really enjoyed the experience

and thank Mrs Smith for organis-

ing it for us.” Anushri

Despite the inclement weather that

has been a feature of the fledgling

cricket season, the boys have

managed to play three games and

they remain unbeaten.

A strong batting performance at

Stockport was wasted as the

heavens opened, putting paid to

the game at the halfway stage.

Valiant attempts to resume,

proved futile in the face of the poor

weather.

A visit to The Grange, resulted in a

convincing 91 run victory, the high-

light being a last pair partnership

of 51, between Henry Wild and

Louis Mason.

An entertaining home fixture

against King’s Chester proved a

low scoring encounter, with

Birkenhead School securing

victory by 23 runs, a far more

comfortable looking margin than

the game suggested. Credit is

due to Matthew Diaz-Rainey,

Samarth Kumar and Luke Crocker

for some tight bowling, just when

it was needed.

Henry Wild summed up the mood

of the camp, “We were a little

concerned about the strength of

our batting before the start of the

season, but everybody has pulled

together and we have performed

well with both bat and ball. Let’s

hope the season can continue in

the same vein.”

Page 4 The Prep Times

Year 5 Cricket Team off to Winning Start

From the nerve jangling heights of the high ropes course to the stomach churning thrill of the giant swing, the children were put through their paces by a team of PGL instructors, often to the accompaniment of a variety of annoyingly catchy songs. Whether the children were on the water in the kayaking session, or indeed under it, during the raft building exercise, a memorable time was had by all.

The challenge to overcome trepi-dation and enter into the jaws of adventure, was summed up on the face of Caitlin Watson, who stood at the base of the 40 foot climbing wall, gazing upward,

biting her lip and alternately shifting her weight from foot to foot. “Is it nerves or excitement?” she was asked as her safety harness was tightened. “Neither,” she replied, her eyes never leaving the vertical ascent ahead of her. “I just want to go to the toilet.”

Fun in the Sun for Y6

The annual Year 6 excursion to Caythorpe Court, near Grantham is always a highlight of the school year. Thrills, spills, excitement, team building, sleep deprivation... yes, these are all watchwords of a week away in the Lincolnshire countryside with forty ten and eleven year olds.

On Thursday 9th May, to the delight

of their teachers and parents, Prep Orchestra, Year 5 Choir and solo violinist Dionne Lee performed superbly in the Birkenhead School Summer Concert, in Bushell Hall.

Prep Orchestra opened the concert with three Jazz pieces: ‘Dan The Man’, ‘Frothy Coffee’ & ‘5 Jive!’ Having worked hard and been committed to attending weekly rehearsals, all the children played to the best of their ability and the audience was ‘wowed’ by what they heard.

Later in the concert, pupils in the Year 5 Choir sang two songs: ‘Build On The Rock!’ & ‘Make A

Mummy’. The children sang their hearts out and clearly enjoyed what they were singing. Some of the lyrics in their second song clearly amused the audience, adding an element of humour to this wonderful evening of music. The audience were treated to performances by Bar Line, Big Band, Concert Band, The Chapel Choir and the Senior Choir. A big thank you to all the Music staff, and especially to Philip Robinson, Director of Music and Sue Keating, Prep Music Teacher.

A very special mention must be made of the virtuoso performance of Massenet’s Meditation by solo violinist Dionne Lee. Dionne, who is currently in Year 6, recently passed her Grade 8 violin exam with distinction. Her breathtaking performance captivated the audience from beginning to end.

The Prep Times

Parents Praise Performance

Head Boy, Toby Brown, commented, “It was

a valuable experience and I enjoyed seeing

the exciting and interesting music going on

throughout the School.”

Dates for your diary:

Tuesday 18 June at 1pm—Infants Sports Day

Thursday 20 June at 12pm—Junior Prep Sports Day

Wednesday 28 June—Induction Day

26, 27, 28 June at 7pm—Y6 Performance of The Pied Piper of Hamelin

(Tickets £5 adult/ £3 child available from the Prep Office)

Friday 28 June at 2pm—Infants Summer Concert

Tuesday 02 July at 2pm—Pre-Prep Sing-along

Tuesday 02 July at 7pm—Junior Prep Prize-giving

Wednesday 03 July at 11.45am—End of Term

Finally, don’t miss the bumper summer edition of In Focus Magazine at the end of term.

Page 5