It’s been another busy week at SVPS as we find ourselves well underway with the second half of this term. In Pre-Prep, the children and their teachers have started to turn their minds towards Christmas productions, with costumes, music and dancing wherever you look. Children in Year 3 to 6, including those in the Chamber Choir, Senior Choir and Junior Choir, have been learning a range of Christmas songs and carols, which will form part of our traditional Carol Service in December. Inevitably, all these events will take on a slightly different format this year, but we aim to maintain the magical feel of this term as much as we can, and these events will certainly feed into this.

We have received the final submissions for the Wildlife Artist and Photographer competitions, and in assembly this week all the children in Year 3 to 6 had an opportunity to look through the wide range of photographic entries, indicating their favourites. The results of both competitions will be unveiled over the course of the next week. As ever, the decisions are agonising, as the standard of work submitted has been very high indeed. Keep an eye on @SVPS_News on Twitter and the Prep School Facebook page next week to see some of the entries.

Many of our Year 6 children are feeling relieved today, having undertaken the SVS Junior Entrance exams this morning at School. The top corridor of the Coles building was a hive of quiet, concentrated activity as they spent the morning working through the online tests using our new Surface Go devices. Some of the children even commented on how much they had enjoyed the whole experience!

Finally, this week, we have had the first of a series of informal instrumentalists’ concerts, starting with Year 5, and Year 3 will follow next Friday. Year 4 and 6 will have their turn after Christmas. The children and their teachers have been working incredibly hard on what promises to be a lovely evening, with a wide range of instruments and musical styles performed in an intimate concert which will be filmed and shared with parents on Planet eStream. Many thanks to Mrs Lordon and her team for all their hard work putting these events together. 

It truly is inspiring to see how our staff team at SVPS continues to rise to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic with creativity and no shortage of good humour. We continue to move forwards, using all our Learning Powers, and finding ways to overcome each hurdle that is put in front of us. For many within School, both children and adults, the second half of this term is one of their favourite parts of the year and we are absolutely determined to ensure that, despite everything, this continues to be the case!