Dear Parents,
We were very grateful for the sunshine today as we hosted our second Nursery Discovery Morning of the year, welcoming in prospective and soon-to-be-starting families to explore some activities together in both the indoor and outdoor classrooms. They were able to see our curriculum in action and spend lots of time chatting with the Nursery team and we hope to welcome them to the St Edward's family soon.
Earlier in the week Year 5 took part in the next part of their Look, Draw, Build STEM challenge, with a workshop bringing their train station designs to life following their visit to Reading and Didcot stations last week. They spent time in their groups, with the help of volunteers from Archi-Adventure, carefully creating their models. We are eagerly awaiting the results to see whose design will progress to compete against other local schools for the chance to be displayed in a city centre location.
Children in Years 2 to 6 have really enjoyed the challenge of the Times Tables Rock Stars competition this week. Every child completed 20 minutes, trying to submit as many answers as possible. We are delighted to have placed a close fourth in the Wishford group of schools, with the top-scoring Year 2 across the group and Year 6 being the winning class in St Edward's. Well done to James, Malak and Salah for their top scores and to Rohan for his Gone Green certificate for being able to answer all the facts in four seconds or less! We certainly have some Maths stars in our midst.
Photo Highlights
Year 5 showing their creativity and problem-solving skills as they constructed their train station models.
A few snapshots from a busy Nursery Discovery event, exploring Three Little Pigs themed activities and enjoying the sunny outdoor classroom.
Calendar Updates
Key dates coming up:
- Pangbourne Woods: Year 2 on Monday 17 March.
- Fixtures: Years 5 & 6 - Wednesday 19 March vs Waverley Prep, Years 3 & 4 - Friday 21 March vs Waverley Prep.
- Little Hatchlings Stay & Play: Thursday 20 March, 9.15-10.30am.
- Celebration Assembly: Friday 21 March, 8.40am - all parents welcome in person or online via the Teams calendar invite.
- FREDS Wonder Woman Sale: Tuesday 25 March - more details below.
- Book Fair: 26-31 March - more details to follow next week.
- House Rugby: Friday 28 March for Years 3 to 6 - more details and RSVP below.
End-of-Term Arrangements
With the end of the Spring term just over two weeks away, we wanted to confirm final arrangements, especially with the mid-week finish on Wednesday 2 April.
- School finishes at midday except for Nursery, which finishes at 4pm.
- The Nursery Term will continue to the end of the week.
- A final Celebration Assembly (parents welcome) takes place at 11.15am for the presentation of House Point and Sports Colours badges.
- Children do not need their school bags and should take all belongings home on Tuesday 1 April.
- Dismissal will take place from both gates as normal after Assembly.
- All After-School Clubs finish on Friday 28 March. After-School Care is available on 31 March and 1 April.
Light: Art Competition Reminder
Don't forget to submit your entries to our brand new art competition, open to the whole school. From May to July we have a display space at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, exclusively for St Edward's, and we would love to showcase a variety of artwork from all our year groups. Here is a reminder of the guidelines:
- The theme of the display is 'Light'.
- Pieces must be no larger than A4.
- Submissions can be drawings, paintings or photographs.
- Please include the child's first name and age on the back (or in the email subject if submitting photography).
- Photographs should be sent directly to Mrs Wilson on diane.wilson@stedwardsprep.com.
- The deadline for entries is Friday 28 March.
Book Summer Term After-School Provision & Buses
Booking is now open for next term's After School Care and Clubs, as well as the school bus collection and drop-off service. You can find links to both forms below. We are excited to offer a mix of popular clubs, including Adventure, Drama and Coding, as well as some new additions with Multi-Sports, Art and Hockey.
The booking deadline for all after-school provision and buses is next Friday 21 March.
Easter Holiday Club - Booking Open
Please find the booking links and dates below for our Easter Holiday Club - please note the Nursery ones are slightly different. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the office or email holiday-club@stedwardsprep.com.
Nursery: Runs from Monday 7 April to Thursday 17 April for all of our Nursery families. Please choose the correct age for your child to ensure accurate payment.
Reception to Year 6: Runs from Thursday 3 April to Thursday 17 April.
Nursery: Term Dates & Optional Change in Hours
All parents of children in Nursery who aren't currently attending for our new core hours of 8.15am-3.45pm should have received a communication earlier this week offering the option to switch from 8am-4pm or remain on these hours. Please check the details and reply to Mrs Turner (kelly.turner@stedwardsprep.com) by next Monday 17 March. Thank you.
Nursery will remain open until Friday 4 April, while school term ends on Wednesday 2 April at 12pm. Children booked in on Thursdays and Fridays will continue with their usual sessions, including snacks and hot lunches, up to Friday 4 April. If you plan to collect your child early on Wednesday 2 or if they will not attend on Thursday 3 or Friday 4 April, please inform us as soon as possible. Additionally, the Nursery Term Dates sheet incorrectly lists Friday 4 April as a half day—please note that this will be a standard full Nursery day. For any questions, please email kelly.turner@stedwardsprep.com.
Years 3 to 6: House Rugby Tournament
There are just two weeks to go until the annual House Rugby tournament, taking place on the afternoon of Friday 28 March at our sports field at Sulhamstead Cricket Club. We hope to see lots of you there to cheer the children on and ask that all parents of children in Years 3 to 6 complete the form linked below so we can plan travel arrangements and refreshments for the day.
Arrangements differ slightly from the usual tournament schedule due to the event not being on the last day of term. This means that Friday After-School Provision will be running if you would like your child to return to school for their usual booked session.
Years 5 & 6: Heatree Residential Payment Update
Thank you again to everyone who has signed up for the Heatree Residential trip in June for Years 5 and 6. We are looking forward to this exciting opportunity for the children. This message is to confirm that the remaining balance of the payment (£275) will be invoiced at the end of term before Easter. After the break we will be in touch with more details, such as a kit list and medical form and information.
FREDs Update: Wonder Woman Sale
We are delighted to be holding the annual Wonder Woman Sale in support of FREDs on the morning of Tuesday 25 March. All children will have the opportunity to purchase a gift for a special someone at a cost of £5 (there will be enough gifts for one purchase per child).
Please send your children into school that day with the £5 in an envelope marked with their name (unless you have let your FREDs rep know that they are not participating) and also send a small bag for the gift to come home in. If anyone forgets their £5, the child can still choose a gift but it will be left in the school office until payment is received (and we'll contact you via your class rep to arrange it). Final reminders will be shared via the WhatsApp groups.
Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully we will return on Monday with England having won the Six Nations!
Best wishes,
Jonathan