Welcome back and a special welcome to our new families. I hope you were able to enjoy the Summer holidays and the fantastic weather that we all enjoyed this year.
Yesterday we took Class 5 and 6 to see Matilda at the Birmingham Hippodrome. We had a lovely time together and many adults complimented the children on their behaviour and appearance. This makes us all feel proud, as we work very hard at school encouraging respect and tolerance of each other. The performance was spectacular. Matilda is an optimistic theatrical play. It reminds us all of the importance of good, kind people, who can help anyone escape from those who harass or bully others. It paints a very positive picture for girls and boys about not being a victim and standing up for yourself. We spend a great deal of time talking to children at school about not bullying others, being kind, and having courage to stand up for what is true and fair. Unkind words or deeds are never acceptable from any of us and I hope in our school we remember the importance of treating each other with kindness, honesty and respect on a daily basis.
Courage is important too and I was delighted to hear in assembly from the children on Tuesday morning, about the courage our children showed, attempting numerous challenges at Hill Top and Band Camp.
Well done to all. We all return looking forward with excitement and anticipation about the new challenges ahead this academic year. This year we are introducing "STEAM" activities on a Wednesday afternoon which we hope will excite and interest the children as they solve some tricky problems together.
Enjoy the weekend.
Kind regards
Mrs Kathryn Korcz
Headmistress
Calendar & Events
Autumn Term 2018
Term Starts:
Tuesday 4/9/18
Half Term:
22/10/18 - 2/11/18
End of Term:
Friday 14/12/18
Spring Term 2019
Term Starts:
Monday 7/1/19
Half Term:
18/2/19 - 22/2/19
End of Term:
Friday 5/4/19
Summer Term 2019
Term Starts:
Tuesday 23/4/19
May Day:
Monday 6/5/19
Half Term:
27/5/19 - 31/5/19
End of Term: Wednesday 17/7/19
ISSUE: 344 6th September 2018
IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION
Cool Cats Uniform Supplier: TGPS website - Please access the Uniform & Equipment heading on the home page there is a direct link to the Cool Cats website.
WEEKLY EVENTS
Thursday 6th September
Edwards & Blake Taster Session, 3pm Residential/International Exchanges information session, 4pm
Friday 7th September "Friends" coffee morning - open to all, 9am
Tuesday 11th September
PCSO visit - talk to Juniors
Wednesday 12th September
RAF - 100 Paper Planes Challenge
U11 Rugby v Brooke Priory & Oakham (a)
U11 Hockey v Brooke Priory (h)
This afternoon (Thursday), Edwards & Blake, our caterers, warmly invite you to join them at 3pm in the school hall. They will be providing samples of our current school menu for you to taste and will be available to answer any queries.
Residentials and International Exchanges
Come and find out more about the Residentials and International Exchanges we have planned at 4.00pm today in the school hall. Staff will on hand to answer any questions.
Year 5 & Year 6 visit to see Matilda
On Wednesday the Year 5 and 6 children enjoyed a trip to the Birmingham Hippodrome to watch the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic Matilda performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The children had a wonderful time following the story, from its highs to its lows and everything in between. The action was fast paced, with brilliant acting, pitch perfect singing and some brilliant choreography (Who knew Miss Trunchbull was such a good gymnast!) all set to brilliant stage backing and sing along soundtrack.
The children must be credited with how they handled themselves and set such high standards throughout the trip, especially as the theatre was extremely busy. The children carried themselves without fuss and were commended by several members of the public on their behaviour and how smart they all looked. Well done.
Mr Tranter
Summer Holiday Camp 2018
During the Summer Holiday Camp the children went on a multicultural adventure around the world and visited countries such as Japan, Great Britain, China, and Spain. Each country had something special to share and the children explored other cultures through fun and exciting activities.
During Chinese and Japanese week we welcomed Marital Art instructor, Jo Copeland, who delivered thrilling lessons that focused on self-defence, self-discipline and self-confidence, with respect for others. As well as learning some interesting acts about Chinese and Japanese culture, the children created some traditional art such as flying carp, origami, paper lanterns and fire breathing dragons.
Thanks to our Chinese friend Mrs Zhang, the children were taught to write their names using authentic Chinese characters.
During Spanish week, Dance teacher Mrs Watson introduced her energetic dancing with glow sticks, to the children, who certainly made some shapes! Some wonderful artwork was produced as a result of learning about some famous Spanish artists such as Salvador Dali and Antonio Gaudi. During British week, Grantham Tennis Club ran fun tennis sessions with their enthusiastic coaches and a good time was had by all.
Craft activities also included making adorable Paddington Bears, complete with suitcases and jam jars. Inspired by Her Majesty the Queen and her favourite breed of dog, the Corgi, the children designed their own fluffy little dogs using different materials.
Thank you for all those who participated in this year's summer fun and for making it a wonderful time.
I hope to see you all again in October for the October holiday camp which will run from 29th October to 2nd November 2018.
We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new starters and their families who join us this term.. We hope you will be very happy here at Grantham Prep. If you see them around school, be sure to say hello and make them feel welcome.
Hello to: Emmeline, Felicity, Cora, James, Christopher, Lucy, Ella, Daniel, Sophie, Serenya, Gracie-Mae, Phoebe, Milo, Sai, Aurore, Bella and Jessica
STEAM Projects
Classes three and four christened our new STEAM programme of investigative projects which will run throughout the year. The projects are designed with a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths focus and will hopefully develop the abilities of the children to work collaboratively and independently in these fields. This week a Hole in the Bucket needed to be plugged with some very interesting and wet outcomes!
Congratulations to Olivia( class 6) who has been busy this summer topping up her trophy cabinet. Olivia took part in a 5km Bubble Run for Bernardo’s Children’s Charity where she had to run through a 5 km tunnel of bubbles - not something you do everyday! She also took part in her first Open Water swim at Holme Pierrpoint, Nottingham where she swam 1500m competing against not just other human swimmers but some “ massive fishes” as well.
Please could parents be aware that students are not able to participate in any musical clubs such as Band, Clarinet group or Sax group without taking instrumental lessons at school.
LAMDA Examination Results
A huge well done to all students who took their LAMDA Exams on Monday 18th June 2018.
Verse & Prose Grade 2
James D Y6 Distinction
Acting Solo Grade 2
Sophie A Year 6 Merit
Martha B Year 6 Distinction
Acting Grade 2 Combined
Martha Campbell Year 6 Distinction
Elijah H Year 6 Distinction
Another very pleasing set of resuts, congratulations to all of you!
Laughter, anecdotes, and stories about boundless friendship were shared last Friday at the annual alumni meeting. This year the generation of 2011 was invited.
Most of these men and women are now professionals who have started a new stage in their lives, they have prepared themselves for many years to be now part of the country's workforce. It is rewarding to hear them talking optimistically about their plans for the future. They also show themselves grateful for what their school did for them and how it helped them to achieve their goals.
We are glad to receive them at their School. They will always be welcome.
José Alegría G.
Alumni Coordinator
Colegio Internacional SEK Chile SANTIAGO - CHILE
NAMASTE TO RAINY DAYS
You can’t rain on our students’ parade. With heavy rains occurring outside, our Kindergarten and First grade class did a great job participating in an interactive Yoga class. With all the distractions and stressors our students face everyday, it is great to take some time and get active, relax, and even have some fun. Yoga can offer this to our students plus many more benefits such as body awareness, develops focus and concentration, self-confidence, and feeling apart of a non-competitive group during Physical Education. Our yoga class integrates story telling with different Yoga poses and techniques. Not only do our students have a great time and gain Physical and mental benefits, but we say Namaste to Rainy Days ahead.
If you are selecting your child's lunches on a weekly basis, it must be done by midnight Thursday of the previous week. Once you have made your choices, unfortunately, you are unable to change them. However, if your child would like to change a meal, please email the school office (contact.grantham@iesmail.com) with the date and meal choice that you would like changing and we will make the changes for you.
The Wise pay booking system for hot lunches is available through the TGPS website.
Thank you.
School Bus Collection Points & Times
Bookings for this week:
Please contact the school office to book a place for your child.
8.10am Normanton on Cliffe
8.20am Ancaster
8.25am Wilsford
On Fridays the bus will run 15 minutes earlier to ensure pupils arrive in time for the *Music Machine" School Band rehearsal.
Access to the School Building after 4.30pm
As you are all aware there is now a gate which has a key code access to the Creche in the evening. If you do not have the code, please call 01476 593293 and your call will be answered by Creche.
