Moonballs, flooding and the Christmas Fair....

The moon ball.  A cleverly designed ball made for maximum fun.  Extra bouncy, neon in colour, with dips and slightly hexagonal sides. The moon ball, when bounced, can go off at any angle.  It fits snugly into the palm of a child’s hand for throwing and catching and is most popular amongst the younger members of our community here at St. Peters.  Designed exactly for fun, but also designed EXACTLY the right size to enter and then stick in a drain pipe.

 And so the week unfolded.  Weather of biblical proportions, aided by the unblocking of said drain pipe which caused an almighty whoosh of rain water into the front hall.  The team dealt with the sudden tidal wave admirably - whipping Christmas shoe boxes out of reach and turning off the Christmas tree lights.  Office staff, teachers and maintenance team all worked brilliantly together getting it all back to working order as soon as possible.  My thanks to them.

On Tuesday we held our second FOSP meeting in the new format with the Class Reps as part of the meeting and school business at the top of the agenda and this went extremely well.  Class or year group representatives are hugely important and valuable to both myself as Head and to the entire the school community, not only so we can nip any issues in the bud, but also for feedback on ideas of development for the school.  We discussed since September how we have addressed issues such as signage, future schools' advice needing to be for younger year groups and reporting to parents on standardised data.  I asked opinions on uniform and the gradual (three year) roll out of an update to the games kit from next September and spoke of my plans to develop the outdoor learning and move the house system forward.  Next time we meet I will have games kit samples to show the Class Reps to get some feedback ‘on the ground’.   Our attention then turned to the business of organising events and the staff, children and I are greatly looking forward to the Christmas Fair.  My great thanks to FOSP for such wonderful organisation, ideas and commitment to make such a magical event for St. Peters.  Possible summer term events were discussed with ‘St. Peter’s Dog Show’ being my favourite so far!    

Dog Show at St. Peter's next summer? 

From 'shaking out the sillie's' to jumping off a cliff. 3 to 13 - the Prep School journey

Our Nursery

It has been wonderful to see the children back after their well deserved half-term to more glorious weather in Devon.

As  I  went  round  all  of  the  classrooms  on Monday morning, I was lucky enough to join Kindergarten for their morning dance and to ‘Shake the sillies out’ - a most enjoyable ten minutes which left myself and Mrs Brenton a little breathless! All staff and children are looking forward to the half term ahead with much in store including the Christmas Fair, a huge highlight, which I am looking forward to immensely.

Year 8 Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl

“Yes! We did it!” The Cross Keys Award for Year 7 and Year 8s has been running  this  week  with  both  year  groups  attending  their  ‘Spirit  of  Adventure Days’. I have witnessed team building games on the lawn, 1 to 1 personal development  and  leadership  coaching  with  an experienced  trainer  for  all  of  Year  8,  camp building and firemaking.

Leadership skills experts attend the school and spend six days over the two years with the children. The Cross Keys is like a junior version of the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ Award with awards gained of bronze, silver and gold. It is inter-woven throughout the curriculum for the top two years at St. Peter’s.

Adventure programme in Year 8

The adventure element takes place on expeditions for each year group. Year 7 plan ahead and are trained for their expedition looking at food, kit, camp building, raft building and practical survival skills. Year 8 plan and undertake a ‘Major Expedition’ on Dartmoor. The groups are mostly self-reliant by this stage (with support in the wings!). They are responsible for their group’s navigation, shelter, catering and group management. They  have  to  deal  with  ‘unexpected  events’,  build  grit  and determination and experience personal challenge.

The award is made up of different elements. Firstly, it develops leadership skills, but also valuable life skills. Children are expected to plan and cook a meal for their family and to do some charity and volunteer work. They also undertake a lifesaving course and a separate first aid course. They spend time with the younger children planning and taking  them  for  activities. Personal  development  is  also  tracked  and  points  are awarded for resourcefulness, helpfulness, organisation, politeness and appearance. A log book is updated regularly by each child and becomes a journal keepsake of their last two years at St. Peter’s. We feel that there is something very special about these top years, where children reach the end of their prep school, where they come further together as a close unit leading and becoming ambassadors for the school. With a surfing trip, a no expenses trip to France and the opportunity of a culture trip to Rome next year the opportunities for personal development continue. I feel very proud of the journey which St. Peter’s provides from ‘Shaking their sillies out’ at 3 to leaping off cliffs at 13 and embracing their future with confidence.

Next week I will be writing with advice on choosing a Senior School for your child. I look forward to seeing Year 6 parents at a Future Schools’ presentation evening next Thursday 17th November at 6pm and Year 4 and Year 5 parents at a similar evening next term. The Next Steps Schools' fair, where Senior Schools visit St. Peter’s, is taking place at the beginning of the Trinity Term. Please put 4th May in your diaries.

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