Lent Term Week 2 Head of Prep Newsletter
Dear Parents,
I hope this message finds you well. This week, our pupils had a delightful experience playing in the smattering of snow that graced us at the start of the week. It was heart-warming to see their joy during this wintry moment. During this cold weather, could pupils have hats, scarves, gloves, and extra socks for wellies if needed, especially Pre-Prep pupils. Please ensure all items are labelled. Thank you to boarding staff for looking after our Prep 3 and 4 pupils for the sleepover last night, lots of excitement and memories made.
For future reference, should we ever need to move to remote lessons, these will be available on Teams. Please refer to the attached document for further information about how to access Teams.
As we venture further into the Lent term, I wanted to share some important updates from the Prep.
As you may be aware our Swimming Pool is currently out of action. This means that that The Prep 3 & 4 Swimming Gala, scheduled for 22 January is postponed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. All swimming lessons next week will become PE lessons instead. The engineers have been in to look at the pool and we will ensure to update you with its progress. We are sorry for any disappointment that this may cause to the children, but we have some exciting PE sessions planned to keep them motivated and active.
On a brighter note, Dr. Baker, Deputy Head at the College, will be hosting another Food for Thought session on January 29th. This opportunity is open to all Prep 6 pupils, encouraging them to explore different ways of thinking. Prep 6 pupils have received the Food for Thought packs and instructions in assembly this week. I encourage you to engage with your child in this valuable experience.
We are also seeking creative input from our pupils for the design of the tarmac play area beside Hartley House. Please encourage your child to share their suggestions and ideas by placing them in the designated box in the assembly hall as soon as possible.
A reminder for a non-uniform day on January 26th, with the theme being sportswear, contributions welcomed in support of Cedars House charity, Scropton Riding Centre.
Additionally, on 23 January, we will be taking whole Prep and Prep House photographs. Please ensure your child's uniform is smart and ready for these memorable snapshots.
In preparation for this year's Choral Concert, we will be rehearsing a parent and staff choir during the Lent term. This is open to parents, staff and ODs, and rehearsals will be taking place on Monday evenings from 1900 to 2000, in the music school. All abilities and experience are welcome, and there is no audition - just come along and sing! If you would like any further information, please contact the College Director of Music, Luke Wynell-Mayow, at [email protected]. This year, we are going to be working on Haydn's brilliant 'Nelson Mass'. The concert will be on Thursday 25 April, at 7.00pm.
The College are excited to announce the 2025 adventure to the slopes. The venue will once again be visiting Alpe d’Huez, one of France’s top five ski resorts. The trip will be travelling again with Skibound, one of the travel industry’s most experienced and respected school travel providers. The trip will run from 29 March – 5 April 2025 and this will be open to those pupils in the current Prep 6, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Form i.e. next year’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Form. An invitation to register for the 2025 ski trip will be sent to parents of these year groups, by email via Evolve, on Wednesday 24 January at 6:30pm. Due to the popularity of this trip, we recommend that if your son/daughter is interested you register as soon as you receive the invitation. It is not unusual for this trip to sell out in the first 24 hours of launching.
A reminder that all parents are warmly invited to the College International Showcase Evening on Monday 22 Jan 2024. The International Showcase Evening is a real feature of the calendar, being a joyous way to learn about and celebrate the international representation within our community. Many of these young people are our international students, but we also have domestic boarders and staff who have heritage beyond our borders or have spent time living in other countries. If you wish to join us for the evening, seeing all that our volunteers want to show you about the countries they are from or have chosen, you are very welcome. Could I please, however, ask that you email Mr Horan at [email protected], confirming your wish to do this, so that we have an idea of numbers. The evening starts at 7pm in the Drill Hall (previous correspondence stated 'School Room'). If you are able to attend, we very much look forward to seeing you.
Please do note that attendance in school is one of the biggest determiners of success. To that end, please do ensure that children are here in good time and are only absent from school if absolutely necessary. There is much in the media about school absence and whilst we are far from the national norm, we still consider attendance to be incredibly important to progress and ask that requests for ad hoc absence are avoided where possible.
Finally, a reminder that next Fri 26 Jan there will be no after school clubs due to Exeat. Coaches will leave early but after school prep will continue until 1800 as usual.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community.
Best wishes
The following attachments can be found on the Parent Portal by visiting https://denstonecollege.parents.isamshosting.cloud
- Sport and Activity Holiday Camps for children aged 5 – 16
- How to Access Teams
