The Week in Prep

As the year comes to an end it has been time for the Nursery girls to harvest the potatoes and carrots they have been growing and caring for. We harvested these in ‘The Look Out’ and the girls were amazed by how many potatoes they had grown this year! We explained that this had been due to the splendid care they had taken in making sure they gave the vegetables plenty of water during such a hot and dry Summer. Well done girls! We washed and cooked the potatoes, and the girls enjoyed a warm, buttery potato treat! Everyone gave the potato treat the thumbs up.

Year 1 were inspired to create some textured ice cream paintings this afternoon with local artist Jo Sharpe. This was a wonderful end to our topic about coasts and the beach following on from our trip recently to Shoreham.

Year 2 go wild in the country! How many times do we get close, I mean really close, to real British wildlife? Well, Year 2 headed off on a rainy day to the British Wildlife Centre near Lingfield to do just that. There were beautiful owls, exquisite frolicking otters Bane and Morgan put on a show for us, as well as loads of graceful deer. There were many wonderful red squirrels in a tree house, but sadly they were feeling shy and kept hidden in the trees.

We got to see Millie, our guide, feeding Basil the fox and some Scottish wild cats, and their kittens – we were fooled by their cute appearance until we saw them in a feeding frenzy – and there were some hilariously cheeky polecats who ran up her leg to grab the food! The highlight was seeing Yoda the owl up close and we’ll never forget how adorable the hedgehog was. It was shocking for us to learn that by the time that the girls turn 20 years old, that there may be no wild hedgehogs left in this country. The girls were able to learn so much by seeing the wildlife up close and listening to Millie who was so dedicated and knowledgeable.

Who knew that badgers love sausage rolls? Hands up if you were aware that hedgehogs love Pringle crisps – but the tubes are a bit of problem.  Do you know how heavy antlers are? Really! Or that deer eat their antlers when thy fall off? So much to learn for all of us, no matter what age.

There is also always a discussion about the ethics of keeping wild animals locked in cages, which we discussed with honesty. However, here you could see how well cared for the animals were and how attempts were made to make their habitats as normal as possible for them. 

Many of the animals arrived as orphans or were injured and we were delighted to learn that one of their foxes was 14 years old – possibly one of the oldest in the country. It was an interesting day learning about how we humans impact the natural world and it gave us a lot to think about. It certainly is well worth a visit, especially for the calm and tranquillity of being at one with nature.

In DT, the girls learned about pneumatic systems and experimented using balloons and syringes to create movement. They talked about ways pneumatic systems are used in real-life, too, e.g. bus doors and pneumatic drills. They then designed a toy monster with moving parts using exploded diagrams and they made them with a pneumatic system. You an see the girls at work in the photos, as well as the finished monsters.

Year 4 enjoyed a wonderful trip to Hobbledown Farm on 3^rd July where they met some of the Farm’s residents including a snake, a goat, a tortoise, a cockroach and a millipede. The girls’ fearlessness, especially with the snake, was most impressive! They also learnt about the different layers of the rainforest and the animals who live there, while at the Raptor Centre they were introduced to several birds of prey including a Bengalese Eagle Owl.

This year, Year 6 put on a production of the Wizard Of Oz. We worked really hard and even went to see Wicked in the West End, for inspiration. The highlights from our production were the excellent choreography, the wonderful harmonies (special thanks to Miss John) and hilarious improvised lines. It was a real team effort and we couldn’t have done it without the help from our teachers: Mrs Donald, Mr Rodrigues, Mrs Grant, our drama teachers and the wonderful Kat who was the best help we could’ve asked for. 

 – By Kara G