Challenging, Questioning and Building Knowledge Skills

Dear Felsted families,

‘Mrs Norris, do I understand this correctly, have children actually been into the freezer this week?’

My answer … yes they have! My Felsted moment this week has to be dedicated to Year 3 and their immersive experience of the North and South Poles ready for diving into this term’s theme which seeks to challenge, question and build knowledge skills and understanding that will bring this theme to life. With ski-wear, ice making, experiencing freezing conditions and a special furry guest … this launch was brilliantly orchestrated by our dedicated Year 3 team. 
 

Bringing dinosaurs to life has to be another magical moment and please do take a peek (if you dare) at the newsletter to find out more about the prehistoric learning that has been taking place with the Pre-Prep team this week. 
 

It has been delightful to see so many supporters out in the crisp winter weather to support the school teams. I had the treat of attending the weekly Prep Games meeting on Monday and the team is full of energy and ideas for the season ahead. 

I fully appreciate that there will be some frozen pitches and some cancellations (as with all weather dependent sports) but overall, the spirit of being ‘in it to win it’ is definitely felt by the coaching team. Miss Westwood expertly guided the team through this week's skills focus and talked about the movement from team to team that would be happening in the coming weeks.

I would like to thank our parents for their continued positive support of our development process that enables all players to improve, to compete and ultimately to enjoy the team experience vehicle representing their school with pride.

Next week, following the successful Friends of Felsted Ball, we are pleased to be welcoming the first of our two 'Heads for the Day' for a special programme of activities across the school. 

The day will include a Head’s Assembly with a photo opportunity, a tour of the school, pupil question time, meetings with Pupil Voice representatives, and time spent working with the Marketing team on the school newsletter. There will also be extended break times, special refreshments for pupils, and opportunities to recognise achievements through awards and certificates.

Both Heads for the Day have also announced that there will be a non-uniform day on Friday 23 January, which we are sure pupils will be very excited about.

As you can see from the shared update regarding Felsted's next steps in development, we are excited about taking our school forward together.

I would like to end by sharing an extract that I shared with the Prep team at the start of term. It comes from 'Felsted Preparatory School - The First 100 Years 1895-1995’ written  by D. J. Armour that I thought was interesting. The Headmaster at the time was Michael Pomphrey and the change that occurred was a significant milestone for the school:

"Two fundamental decisions were taken by the governors in early 1992. The first was that there should be full co-education in both the Prep and Senior Schools, the Prep to start in September 1993. The second was the establishment of a Pre Prep for boys and girls from 4-8 years starting in the Autumn. 

However radical the change was to be, there was a universal determination from everyone involved to keep the same characteristics which had marked the school, its warm and friendly atmosphere and its commitment to high achievement in the classroom and on the games field."

Garde ta foy!

I wish for you all a wonderful weekend ahead,

Miranda Norris