Issue 22

Our Wellbeing blackboard is having a new focus this year celebrating Chandlings Prep's values and ethos.  Last half term we championed the value of "Do your Best to be your Best." We encourage our children to always strive for excellence in every endeavour. Whether it's tackling schoolwork, making friends, or facing challenges, giving their best effort makes them shine. This value inspires us to keep improving, be resilient, and believe in our unique abilities. At Chandlings Prep, we celebrate the journey of personal growth and achievement, creating a community where each student can reach their full potential. This half term we are focusing on Being Courageous.

For Year 1 children the Spring Term began with an ‘out of this world’ space adventure experience day, as they zoomed off on their topic launch of ‘Our Place in Space’! The children were invited to arrive at school dressed as astronauts or aliens before receiving their trainee astronaut badge for the day.

They started their mission by jetting off into Space on a moon buggy, then space hopped their way through the twinkling stars, before zooming through a black hole space tunnel to arrive at the Chandlings Space Station HQ!

The children loved manning the control deck of the Space Station to ensure a smooth journey for all into Outer Space and there were many exciting conversations to be heard from the Space Rocket tent. They also enjoyed developing their artistic flair creating rockets and planets using coloured sand and scratch art. Lunch was a delicious feast of meaty, meatball meteorites served appropriately in foil containers. The children ended their special day with a bag of Space goodies to take home! 

During the course of the term the children will explore a variety of stories with a Space theme in English lessons. The children will develop an awareness of the past involving the history of Space Travel. They will explore the difficulties humans face when travelling to Space and learn about animals that have been to Space. The children will have opportunities for independent study to learn more about the life of a significant individual such as Neil Armstrong, Yuri Gagarin or Dr. Valentina Tereshkova. The children will also learn about the planets and our place within the Solar System. 

"Space is a really exciting topic and with the constant launch of rockets into space it is also very current and relevant.  We always try to bring our topics to life and this immersive Space day starts off our topic with a blast for all our Year 1 children," said Miss Richardson and Miss Buckley the Year 1 teachers.

Year 2 launched their ICE topic. The children were given a mission to complete: rescue a Lego polar explorer from the ice. They observed the ice closely and used food colouring to see the structure more clearly before using salt to dissolve the ice.

On Friday 12 January, Prep children welcomed the New Year in a very French way and celebrated the “Epiphanie”. The children were able to sample La Galette des Rois a traditional cake which hides “la fève”, a charm figurine inside it. The Galettes from the French Company “Brioche Pasquier” were truly delicious. The children performed the ritual of the Galette, where the youngest child goes under the table and directs the distribution of the piece of cake. The lucky person to find the “fève” becomes the King or Queen for the day and gets to wear the paper crown. It gives children cultural awareness and they all thoroughly enjoy it. What a fantastic way to start the New Year! 

What an inspirational assembly we had from Valentina De Pascale who demonstrated that heroes can be ordinary people who do extraordinary things. She told us about her determination to do an IRONMAN, a race of extreme endurance, perseverance showing a strength to overcome overwhelming obstacles. She gave us the message that we should start every day with positive affirmation by looking in the mirror and saying to yourself 'You are an Ironman.' 

During the day Valentina, who is also Head of Nutrition at our school caterers Palmer and Howells, ran nutritional workshops to all the children from Reception up to Year 6 .  The workshops linked to our our Wellbeing focus this term on My Body.  She spoke to the children about the importance of never missing a meal, staying hydrated and how different foods help our minds and bodies. 

Class pairs takes place every term where older children visit younger classrooms, creating a vibrant school community. Playing and learning together fosters unity and a positive atmosphere. This cross-age collaboration ensures everyone feels valued and connected. The interactions not only enhance learning but also build friendships, nurturing a supportive environment throughout the school. Class pairs is one of Chandlings' innovative ways fostering a family environment where students of all ages share experiences, bringing about a sense of belonging and mutual respect. 

‘Have you done your homework?’ can be a thorny question. However, learning at home really matters, especially when it comes to talking. That is why we have introduced Sticky Questions.

You might have noticed that every week our children have come home with a Sticky Question. There is no writing involved. We would just like you to take the time to talk to them about it and see what you each think and why. 

What makes Sticky Questions sticky is that you can keep arguing about them. For example:

If you were bigger than your parents, who would be in charge?

Is it ever unfair to treat people the same?

What is the friendliest colour? Why?

It’s not like a Maths worksheet where the teachers want to see a particular answer. What matters is that you and your child get to talk and think together. If you disagree, so much the better! In fact, if you think alike, you might like to play at disagreeing for the sake of the argument.

In school, the class will carry on the talk, bringing into school the ideas from home.

Encouraging our children to talk can also help their mental health. In addition to the Sticky Questions we will be building on the Britain Get Talking theme from World Mental Health Day and encourage the children to share their emotions, concerns and worries with you too.

We hope you will enjoy the sticky conversations you have at home and that you will see your child grow in confidence helping them to articulate both their opinions and feelings more clearly.