Dear Parents / Guardians
Happy New Year and welcome back to another action-packed term at the Stephen Perse Foundation. This newsletter highlights key events happening across each of our schools over the next month or two.
Quick links
If you'd like to look further forward for any school, please check the website calendar. You can also check sports fixtures throughout the term using our new sports website.
This term's topic
To herald the start of a new topic, we start every new term with a project launch morning. This term’s topic is ‘People Who Help Us’ and both sites had a range of themed activities to pique the children’s interest and excitement for the new topic.
The children were split into mixed year groups and carouseled around the school for the activities. To add to the anticipation and excitement the children came in to school dressed up as a person they think helps them.
Amey Cespa Outreach Visitor
15 January
(City)
18 January (Madingley)
GEOGRAPHY: To explore geographical issues such as recycling and waste disposal.
The children will learn what happens to our rubbish after it is collected. Where does the rubbish go and what happens to it? They will learn about the importance and benefits of recycling. The children will participate in a question and answer session. They will even make a recycled gift to take home!
Please could your child bring in a clean, empty plastic 2 pint milk bottle.
Paediatric neurologist/scientist
29 January
SCIENCE: To understand how scientific investigations can help us in the real world.
The children will have the opportunity to learn about science investigations in the real world, in the field of medicine. The children will learn about the job of a neurologist and understand more about how our brains work with some focused activities.
World Book Day Collaboration
1 March
LITERACY: A range of activities anchored around children’s books.
All children will be able to dress up as a book character of their choice and celebrate World Book Day with their Dame Bradbury's peers. Year One will travel to Saffron Walden and enjoy a range of book themed activities at Dame B's. Year Two will host a celebration at the City site for their Dame B's friends.
Whipple Museum
6 March
(City)
9 March
(Madingley)
SCIENCE: To understand how light works to form shadows.
During this experience the children will be visiting the Whipple Museum, Cambridge to explore and understand the science behind light and shadows. The children will look at a range of scientific artefacts and learn how scientists, doctors and mathematicians have helped us in the past.
The children will need to have a waterproof coat as they will need to walk from the coach or City site.
Gymnastics Displays
12 - 21 March
PE: To perform a gymnastics sequence and conditioned movement phrase.
Parents will have the opportunity to watch a co-ordinated gymnastics display in the hall:
- 12 March - City Y1 at 1.40pm
- 13 March - City Y2 at 1.40pm
- 20 March - Madingley Y1 at 2.30pm
- 21 March - Madingley Y2 at 2.30pm
Each child will showcase a sequence they have prepared demonstrating the gymnastics skills they have learnt. The children will also perform a conditioned movement phrase as a whole class.
Can you get involved?
As always if you can help with any of these experiences, each class will need at least one extra helper on the day, do email the office - preprep@stephenperse.com to let us know.
Kind regards, KS1 Team
Mrs Angetter Hannam 2M, Mrs Hegarty 1C, Mrs Lennon 2C and Ms Monica Perez
Class Assemblies in the Junior School Hall
Parents of participating pupils are welcome to join us from 8am for assembly at 8:40am-9am:
- 6Alpha – Wednesday 7 February
- 6Aleph – Wednesday 21 February
- 6A – Monday 26 February
- 4A – Friday 2 March
- 4Alpha – Friday 9 March
- 3A – Wednesday 21 March
- 3Alpha – Friday 23 March
Year 6 Trip to Bletchley Park
9 February
Year 6 pupils are already beginning to think about their trip, with their Year 6 counterparts at Dame Bradbury’s, to Bletchley Park on Friday 9 February, as part of their thematic learning unit on World War 2.
Year 3 Trip to Hazard Alley
22 February
On Thursday 22 February Year 3 set out for Hazard Alley in Milton Keynes to learn about how to keep safe in today’s world.
Collaborative 'Space Mission' with Dame Bradbury's
Year 4 pupils from Junior School and Dame Bradbury’s will meet up at the Junior School for a ‘Space Mission’.
World War 2 evacuation day
22 February
Year 6 pupils from both schools will experience a ‘World War 2 evacuation day’ together at Dame Bradbury’s.
Year 6 pupils will be wearing period costume.
Year 5 Tudor Day at Burghley House
28 February
Not to be outdone, Year 5 also wearing period costume, will go off timetable with a Tudor Day at Burghley House near Stamford on Wednesday 28 February.
Year 4 trip to the Scott Polar Museum
9/16 March
Year 4 pupils are also looking forward to extending their knowledge and understanding of life in Antarctica when they visit the Scott Polar Museum. 4A will be going along to the museum on Friday 9 March and 4Alpha on Friday 16 March.
Competitions
Year 6 pupils are preparing for the annual SATIPS General Knowledge Challenge and counting the days until they take this year’s paper on Friday 2 February. Good luck to them all!
Some Year 6 pupils are also working towards the 2018 Science Investigative Competition, which culminates in an exciting finale with students from Dame Bradbury’s on Friday 9 March. We wish the teams from both schools all the best as they decide how to tackle their investigative research projects!
Trips
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Y6 visit to Houses of Parliament - Monday 22 January: To link in with their work on democracy and social responsibility, Year 6 are looking forward to their trip to the Houses of Parliament, where they hope to meet the new MP for Saffron Walden, Kemi Badenoch. They will also take the opportunity to walk up Whitehall to the National Gallery where they are booked in for a session on the history and development of the collection, including a look at specific paintings that reflect the breadth of the collection.
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Y3 visit to Saffron Walden Museum - Wednesday 24 January: Year 3 will be visiting the Museum as part of their Active Planet thematic learning, to discover what’s under the earth and to view and handle the Museum’s rock collection.
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Y4 visit to Saffron Walden Museum - Tuesday 30 January
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Y6 visit to Bletchley Park - Friday 9 February
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Year 6 will end this half term at Bletchley Park in a collaborative visit with Year 6 from the Junior School, to complement their learning on WW2. They will work in mixed teams and one of their tasks will involve using a replica of the actual Enigma machine. Exciting stuff!
Dame Bradbury's Parent & Toddler Group
This term, the Dame Bradbury's Toddler Group can look forward to a morning of song, music and movement with ‘Music Bear’ on Friday 2 February, and can explore nature with ‘Toddler Forest School’ on Friday 16 March.
Year 4 Bushcraft parent meeting
16 January
17:00-18.00
A representative from Bushcraft will be visiting Dame Bradbury’s on Tuesday 16 January at 5.00pm in the Theatre. This information evening will provide a greater insight into the activities, food and accommodation.
We look forward to welcoming you and the children to learn more about what the centre has to offer. This will be an ideal opportunity to ask questions about aspects of the trip.
Partnership swimming gala
17 January
09:00 - 12:30
Our Year 3-6 swimming teams will take part in the Saffron Walden Schools Swimming Gala against other local town schools. Sadly no spectators are allowed but keep up to date with results published on our sports twitter account @DBS_Sport.
Ski trip information meeting (February half term 2019)
18 January
08:00 - 08:30
An opportunity for parents of pupils in current Years 4 and 5 to find out more about the Foundation ski trip (taking place February half term 2019).
Freshwater Theatre - Volcano Workshop
18 January
09:00 - 10:45
A fun workshop for Year 3 of drama and learning, exploring the earth’s crust and the layers beneath. Eruptions may be heard!
Early Years Chinese New Year Collaboration
26 January
Reception children from all three of our Early Years sites (Dame B's, City and Madingley) get together to celebrate Chinese New Year 2018, which is the year of the dog according the Chinese 12-year animal zodiac cycle. They will take part in activities aimed at developing an understanding of how the new year is celebrated and become familiar with aspects of Chinese culture such as alphabet letters, lanterns, lucky envelopes and Chinese food.
Holocaust Memorial Day
26 January
Year 6 will join other local schools to remember those who died in the Holocaust and those they left behind. This is an open service and parents are welcome.
NRICH Roadshow
7 February
08:30 - 15:30
NRICH publish thousands of free resources designed to challenge, inspire and engage ages 3 to 19. NRICH resources focus on problem-solving and take a low-threshold high-ceiling approach, building students' confidence, mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and ability to take the initiative.
The NRICH Hands-On Maths Roadshow is a collection of hands-on mathematical puzzles, games and activities brought into school by one of the Nrich presenters. Roadshow activities are designed to promote creative approaches to mathematics and strategic thinking and to stimulate mathematical curiosity
Click here for a selection of Roadshow activities.
The First Kids in Space!
8 & 9 February
14:15
We are looking forward to Years 1 and 2 performing “The First Kids in Space” on Thursday 8 February and Friday 9 February at Dame Bradbury’s Theatre.
Expect song, dance and drama about a group of trainee space cadets who end up going on a real space mission!
Seats can be reserved with the office (details to follow), and refreshments will be served in the dining room after each performance.
Michaelhouse concerts
Our regular series of Friday lunchtime concerts, free and open to the public, continues at the Michaelhouse Centre this term, with our talented musicians playing on the following dates:
- 12 January - Susie Weatherley, violin and Juliette Richards, piano
- 26 January - Julia Ponek, violin and Shuqi Li, piano
- 9 February - Chamber music
- 23 February - Klara Spark, harp
- 2 March - Annabel Jenkinson, piano and Phoebe Dix, clarinet
- 16 March - Ella McLoughlin, violin
Each concert starts at 12:30pm and lasts for around half an hour. We'd love to see you there.
Y9 Parents’ GCSE Years Evening
16 January
18:00
This event will include a presentation of the Key Stage 4 curriculum, explaining the framework of GCSE options. There will be presentations by staff and students on various aspects of life in years 10 and 11.
PSHE Parent Information Evening
22 January
18:30
This will be on the subject of healthy relationships, with the aim of helping parents and carers better understand the ways in which they can have conversations about and provide support to complement the Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) your children receive at school.
Year 9 Creative Arts Evening
24 January
17:00 - 18:45
We would like to invite you to attend an exhibition and showcase of Year 9 work on Wednesday 24 January from 5pm until 6.45pm.
The event will celebrate some of the huge range of work produced through our Year 9 Creative Module programme and feature displays and performances from Visual Arts, Design, Drama and Music.
Refreshments will be served in the Dining Room from 5pm where there will be an exhibition of work from the Visual Arts, Design and Music Departments; you are also invited to view films and digital work. At 5.30pm we will all move to the Hall for live performances from Music and Drama.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this thoroughly enjoyable informal event to celebrate the fantastic creative achievements of our students. Please use this form to book your space.
Although attendance is not compulsory for those members of Year 9 who are not taking part in the live performances, we would like to encourage as many students as possible to join us on the night - this really is a lovely event and a one-off opportunity to appreciate the variety of work produced across the module programme.
Chamber music concert
6 February
18:30
The Chamber Music Concert will involve most students who play in an instrumental chamber group. It is sure to be a lovely evening, showcasing the musical talent nurtured here at the Foundation. We hope to see you there.
London Universities Information Session - L6
Friday 19 January
14:30 - 18:30
The first in a series of university guidance talks for our Year 12 students, this session offers a fantastic opportunity for our students to find out more about studying in London.
There will be presentations from four London Universities (Kings College, Imperial, UCL and LSE), addressing the academic and cultural benefits of studying in the city, highlighting study opportunities at each individual institution, and offering guidance on choosing the right course and making a competitive application.
French debating competition
On Wednesday 7th February, two teams of L6 and U6 French students (IB and A level) will be representing our school at the annual Joutes Oratoires French debating competition at Perse Upper. Bonne chance au Stephen Perse!
'Six Dead Queens' & 'Jeeves and Wooster'
Friday 2 February - 19:30 - Senior School Hall
Start your weekend off with some culture as you enjoy the acting talents of our 6th Form students in their February plays, performed at the Senior School. Email the office for ticket information.
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PFA Events
The PFA organised a highly successful outing to ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on Friday 5 January, and there was great excitement when SPF had a ‘shout-out’!
The PFA will be holding an open meeting in the Senior School shortly and the committee is currently planning the 2018 ‘Valentine Cake Sale’ which will be held in the Senior School Dining Room on 9 February... more information to come!