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Bird Box DT Workshop

Dear <<Salutation>>

As I am writing this on Friday, I do not yet know which House won the trophies, but I hope that those of you who came to House Singing enjoyed the uplifting, pride-making performances. For newer parents, who may have attended for the first time yesterday, it is one of our blue riband events. All boys in all four Houses sing together as a House, competing for the Unison trophy. In addition, a more select group of up to 20 from each House sing a part song, which involves the singing of three or more different parts, in the hope of gaining the Part Song trophy. It is always a wonderful event, which the boys have spent the last term-and-a-half preparing for, and is, perhaps, only rivalled by last term’s outstanding House Drama competition. It is the best embodiment of the school spirit and boys throw themselves into the competition.
 
We have also enjoyed a number of sporting events at all levels so far this term. The vast majority of our boys have played in a hockey, swimming, badminton, table tennis, basketball, cross-country or football fixture against another school. The emphasis has been on enjoyment, participation, teamwork, skill development and fitness. There has also been considerable sporting success at the top level. In cross country, our Year 7 and our Year 8 teams both won the District Cross Country Championships. Our U13 badminton A team narrowly missed out on retaining their title in the National IAPS badminton championships. Hockey has been a success too. On Monday, the U11A team won the IAPS regional tournament to go through to the National Finals after half-term, whilst the U13A team won the County Round of the In2 Hockey cup. Both teams have played some scintillating hockey.
 
Learning and enjoyment has not just taken place in classrooms and on the sports fields; it has taken place all over the Prep School. We held a magical Harry Potter day last Thursday when Year 3 and Year 4 boys dressed up as the famous wizard and savoured a Hogwarts feast in our Dining Hall and quidditch on the ‘hallowed’ Astroturf; Year 5 boys experienced a Night at the Museum during this year’s brilliant Astronight sleepover in the London Science Museum’s newly opened exhibit – Medicine: The Welcome Galleries. On a Science theme, Year 7 boys enjoyed the opportunity to look to the stars in our Observatory and Planetarium as part of their Space topic; the whole school participated in a curriculum collapse day, undertaking a range of enriching activities and workshops all designed to raise awareness of disabilities; not forgetting that 51 boys whisked down the slopes at Sestriere in Italy over the Christmas holidays for a tremendous ski trip. Mathematics has taken centre stage at various points in the term with a number of national and local competitions, including seeing the Year 3 and Year 4 boys coming second in last week’s Times Tables Rock Stars competition.
 
All this has been underpinned by our Future Skills Curriculum, which helps boys to develop the key skills, attributes and characteristics to be happy and successful, not only during their time in the Prep School, but as they move up to the Upper School and life beyond.
 
The spring term seems quite short, but as you will know from your own son’s experience, it is fun-packed and busy. We enjoyed, this week, writing congratulations cards to boys who were successful in our entrance assessments; we are excited about their potential and we look forward to saying hello to many of them in September.
 
We recently said hello to Mrs Stratton’s son, as she visited the school on Thursday. Sadly, we also said goodbye to Mrs Kane yesterday after sterling service as our Late Room Supervisor. She has been superb, and I am sure many parents are grateful for the care and guidance shown for all the boys who have used the Late Room facility. As reported in a previous bulletin, she has been replaced by Mrs Brattle, who has been shadowing Mrs Kane for the last two weeks, before taking over the reins after half-term. Thank you to those who have already made her feel welcome.
 
Onwards to the half-term holiday, a chance for boys to relax, recharge, and come back refreshed and ready for the second half of the spring term.

Year 5

Y5-8 Spring half-term report
Your son’s Spring half-term grade report is now available to view on the parents’ portal. It contains confirmation of your son’s results in the recent Mid-year assessments in all examined academic subjects.
 
Y5-6 After school Hockey cancelled on Friday 28th February
As we are running the U13 IAPS hockey tournament on our pitches on Friday 28th February, there will be no after school hockey on that day, so boys should be picked up at the normal time.

All Prep School Year Groups

House Singing
We hope that those of you who came to House Singing enjoyed it. For those of you who were unable to make it, the event was recorded and can be seen via the link here.
 
Mrs Stratton
As many of you are aware, Mrs Stratton went on maternity leave before Christmas. Just to let you know that she had a beautiful baby boy, Flynn Caleb, last month and mother and baby are doing well. I’m sure you will join us in passing on all our congratulations to Mrs Stratton and her husband.
 
Food Bank
This week our House charity captains gave a presentation to the rest of the school about the launch of the school’s own Foodbank. After half-term we will become a collection point for Bedford Foodbank. There will be a collection box in Prep Reception for any food items you may wish to donate, and which your son can drop off on his arrival at school. Once a week these will be collected by Bedford Foodbank to distribute to local families in need of help. Please note that they cannot accept any fresh food, so all food items should be canned or packaged with a long shelf life. They also accept items for cleaning and personal hygiene. Please see the list here for details of the sorts of items they need. You can also check the home page of their website, which lists the items they urgently need that week. Thank you in advance for your support. 
 
Library Books
Mrs Lumley-Wood would be very grateful if you could please have a look at home over half-term to see if your son has any overdue school library books. There are almost 100 books that were taken out before Christmas that have still not been returned to the library and it would be very helpful to have these back in the first week after half-term. If boys have any overdue books, they would have received either a letter or an email. Thank you.
 
Service for Ash Wednesday, Wednesday 26th February
There will be a 20-minute spoken service in the Chapel on Wednesday 26th February at 8.00am to begin the season of Lent, with the administration of ashes.
 
World Book Day, Thursday 5th March
Please see here a letter from Mr Affleck about the activities which are planned for your son’s class on World Book Day.
 
Bedfordshire Festival Showcase
Thank you to those of you who came to watch the Y4 & Y7 boys perform in their Showcase last week. There are two more Showcases in the week after half-term which we hope you will be able to watch. Boys should please wear white shirts and bring a snack to eat after school if they would like to. Please contact Mrs Bell ebell@bedfordschool.org.uk if you have any questions.
 
Year 3 & 8 Showcase  Monday 24th Feb in the Quarry Studio
                                    from 4.30pm-6pm approx
Year 5 & 6 Showcase  Wednesday 26th Feb in the EMH
                                    from 5pm - 6.30pm approx 
                                    (a later start time due to fixtures)
 
Upcoming Concerts - Dates for your diary
Informal Concert for boys in Y3 & Y6,
Friday 28th February, 4.30pm in the EMH
 
Informal Concert for boys in Y4 & Y7,
Friday 6th March, 4.30pm in the EMH
 
Informal Concert for boys in Y5 & Y8,
Friday 13th March, 4.30pm in the EMH
 
Composition Competition Finals,
Tuesday 24th March, 4.30pm in the EMH
 
BSA Family Conservation Day, Sunday 29th March
Join us on Sunday 29th March for a fun filled family day of conservation at the school’s nature reserve in Ickwell.  Bring your ‘young explorers’ to spend a day in the fresh air, green fields and varied wildlife.  Volunteers will be involved with tree maintenance, wood cutting and chopping, clearing invasive vegetation and learning about charcoal manufacture.  There will also be an opportunity to learn more about the reserve by way of a short site tour.  Places are limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
 
Rowing Course, Monday 6th to Thursday 9th April
Spaces are available on our rowing course during the Easter holidays, which is suitable for boys and girls aged 9 to 14 of all abilities from complete beginner to intermediate sculler. The cost of the four-day course is £110. See here for more details and how to book.

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