Last week saw the launch of our new ‘Super Hoot Learning Powers’ theme for this half term – collaboration and flexibility.

The dictionary defines collaboration as ‘the action of working with someone to produce something, participation, co-operation’ and flexibility is defined as ‘the ability to be easily modified, a willingness to change or compromise’.

I am delighted to share that our Pre-Prep pupils naturally flourish when it comes to both flexibility and collaboration. The children in Nursery and Reception are keen to work with their peers and will often invite other pupils to partake in their current activity.

A great example of collaboration and flexibility was demonstrated by our Year 2 Football team, who were meant to play their first U7 football match on Saturday. Sadly, the match was cancelled, due to the pitches being waterlogged from our recent spell of bad weather. However, in preparation for the game, the boys had been practising their skills, showing great collaboration, working together as a team and working on their flexibility by making quick decisions on the pitch. In addition to this, the boys showed great maturity when they were told their first match had been cancelled. I was immensely proud of how they understood the reasons and continued with their day positively. I am sure there will be future events for them to contribute to, as they progress into Prep and continue to grow these new-found skills.

We shall soon be taking the exciting step of welcoming an even-younger generation into our community, with the Nursery extending to two-year-olds. This will be a new challenge for our Pre-Prep children to continue to care for others and learn new ways to approach younger pupils. They will be actively encouraged to help during playtimes, by showing new games or sharing toys, whilst being gentle to less-robust children. These skills will build a fantastic foundation of friendship, which will continue throughout their School life, creating a life-long bond to treasure forever.

Over the next few weeks, our parents in Year 1 will have the opportunity to try out their ‘Super Hoot Powers’ of collaboration, as they take on their Ancient Egypt challenge against the Year 1 children. I hope you are all revising!

This experience will be great fun for all our children and I hope that besides learning about co-operation and flexibility, they learn another life skill – which of course is ‘magnanimity in victory!’”

Miss McCarmick, Head of Pre-Prep