Head’s Letters

Friday 20 November 2020

Dear Parents

I hope you have all had a good week and I would like to start by thanking you for continuing to support us at school with our measures for keeping our community as safe as we possibly can at this time.

The boys have been working hard in all sections of the school. Year 4 has been continuing with their class reader, ‘War Game’. It has tied in really well with remembrance service last week and I enjoyed reading some of their letters home to parents from the soldiers, excitedly journeying on transport ships across the channel to join the Western Front, not yet aware of the perils that would await them.

Our Year 8 choir members were getting in some practice this morning for our Christmas celebrations at the end of term. Socially distanced throughout the hall, it was lovely to hear such impressive singing and even though we are still in November, it certainly reminded me that Christmas is not too far away!

I was treated to some amazing tower building from the Year 6s this week in their CDT lesson. The boys were meticulous in their builds and one tower was even taller than some of the boys in that group! It was certainly obvious that they were enjoying their work.

In Reception, the boys have been working on their fine motor skills and they managed to teach me how to safely hammer nails into a pumpkin. It was great fun and I was very impressed with their control of the hammer and there was not a thumb injury in sight!

Last term, during lockdown, our Other Half Rock School activity continued online and we found out this week that all 6 of the boys involved have excelled themselves by managing to pass their Rock School guitar exams, either electric or acoustic, with merit. This was all done remotely and the boys should be very proud of their results.

Tonight sees our first JPA event of the term. The online family Quiz is taking place at 7.30pm so if you do find yourself at a loose end and have not yet signed up, please do get involved. Rob’s questions are always great fun and it will be a lovely start to the weekend. Good luck to all of the participants and thanks to Rob and the JPA for putting on our first virtual event of the term.

I have continued to be impressed by the resilience of our boys during this second period of lockdown and I hope that you are all coping well with the current restrictions and enjoying spending time together as a family. Once again this weekend, I will be walking with Hannah and Quinn down to our local bridge over the River Ock for our customary session of pooh sticks! I can thoroughly recommend it if you are looking for something to do this weekend.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 13 November 2020

Dear Parents

It has been a very poignant week with our Remembrance service taking place on Wednesday. The boys observed the two minute silence beautifully and Toby played ‘The Last Post’ and ‘The Reveille’ incredibly well on his trumpet. Our Year 8s have continued their English work studying war poetry which has given them a huge insight into personal stories and experiences of the men and women involved in the Great War.

Year 1 this week has been incredibly busy in Forest School with great excitement around bug hunting. A wide range of bugs have been sighted including centipedes, millipedes, worms, beetles, woodlice and ladybirds. In English, the boys have been testing out some of their science skills investigating whether pumpkins can float as that is the means of escape for all the creatures from the flood in their book, ‘Pattan’s Pumpkins’. It was lovely to hear them talk so excitedly about the book and ingenious means of escape.

In Year 6 Maths the boys have been studying imperial and metric measurements, and building on the boys’ independent projects last week (which included weighing and measuring their dogs, international news reports on escaped animals and a cooking show with imperial weighing scales). This week they have been trying to create a metric conversion machine. It has been great to see them applying their mathematical skills and knowledge to such a creative activity.

In Year 5 RE the boys were producing scrolls, of the Dead Sea type, reporting on the prophecies of a saviour coming into the world. Next week they will be presenting their versions of the prophecies to the class.

Year 7 has been keeping a very close eye on the weather over the past few weeks and I was delighted to be treated to a weekend weather forecast on a visit to their Geography lesson. I was hugely impressed with their knowledge and explanations of cold, warm and occluded fronts, but disappointed to hear that we might be getting rather wet this weekend!

It was good to catch up with all of our Year 7 parents at this week’s virtual parents’ evening. The technology has worked well and we are looking forward to the final parents’ evenings of term next week with our Year 8s.

As last week’s newsletter introduced, we have numerous JPA events coming up over the next few weeks so please do sign up to some of them – details via Classlist. They will be a great way to have some fun and also further build our community during this period of lockdown where wider social interactions are not able to take place. Huge thanks again to the group for all their work in setting these events up. The family quiz is first up next Friday evening.

I hope that you and your wider families are all remaining well during this period of lockdown. Thank you too for wearing masks whilst dropping off and picking up your boys when getting out of your cars. Keeping our whole community as safe as we can at this time of course remains a priority.

I hope you all have a good weekend ahead.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 6 November 2020

Dear Parents

I hope that you all enjoyed a good break at half term and the boys seem to have come back in great spirits and ready to take on the challenges of the second half of term. Clearly life outside of school has once again changed with the second lockdown and I hope that our entire community is able to stay safe in the coming weeks. With this in mind, please could I ask that if parents are getting out of their cars at drop off or pick up, that they wear a face covering as they escort their son to and from their entrance / exit points. I know we have all become accustomed to wearing face coverings in everyday life so I hope that this will not be seen as too much of an imposition.

New DfE guidance released on Wednesday evening states, ​“W​here schools are offering extra-curricular activities (that is, before and after school clubs) they should only do so where it is reasonably necessary to support parents to work, search for work, or undertake training or education, or where the provision is being used for the purposes of respite care.” ​We have considered this very carefully and we are going to continue with all of our after school clubs as we know that our parent body needs them to support them with their work, be that from home or elsewhere. Please do le​t​ your son’s form teacher and Karen, in the office,​ know if you will be collecting your son instead of the club and you are welcome to pick them up at 3.30 for Pre-Prep and 4.10pm for Y3-8.

This week has seen Stefan deliver Remembrance assemblies to all of our year groups. It was lovely to see the boys so focused on what Stefan was sharing with them, especially the moving images that were on show and the incredible numbers relating to different events in World War 2. We will be having our Remembrance service with the boys on Wednesday 11th in school at 11am. It will of course be socially distanced. Huge thanks to all of you who have so generously contributed already to our poppy appeal.

I am delighted to be able to share with you that we have a new Josca’s Parent Association Chair now in post. Sally Povolotsky, who has a son in Year 5, has offered her services in this role. She has a huge amount of experience from previous schools with parents’ associations and I know that she is planning on being in touch with you all via our first JPA newsletter. There will be details on upcoming virtual events and how you can all get involved. Huge thanks to all of our class reps and JPA volunteers for giving up their time and expertise to support the school and our boys. Nigel Coltman has also very kindly agreed to support with the treasurer aspect on the committee alongside Cathy Hughes.

It seems that no matter what is thrown at the boys, they are able to show great resilience and continue with school life in a positive and proactive fashion. This week, the boys in Years 7 and 8 have adapted really well to wearing face coverings around school, which again is now written into government guidance.

I hope that the start of lockdown has not been too difficult for any of you so far and we will continue to keep you informed of any changes to guidance from the DfE which will have an affect on what we can and cannot do in school.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 16 October 2020

Dear Parents

Congratulations to all for a successful first half of term. We really appreciate all the kind messages that so many of you have sent in and it has been great for teachers to catch up with parents at the recent parents’ evenings. Our Year 7 and 8 groups will do so after half term.

One of the bigger changes that we have put into practice this half term was the change to the drop off routine in the morning for Years 6-8 over on Cox’s field. This has worked really well and we are hoping to be able to continue with it after half term by building a trackway around the edge of the field. I will be writing to parents in Year 6-8 towards the end of half term to let you know if this new track is ready to go for the first day back. Hopefully with this in place we will be able to maintain a smoother drop off process in the mornings without long queues to exit onto the main road throughout the winter months.

Despite current restrictions, it has been great to be able to show off the amazing scarecrows that our Pre-Prep boys have made and brought in for our Harvest display. Huge thanks to all Pre-Prep parents who have so generously donated food stuffs for the Gatehouse Charity in Oxford to help them continue their vital support for the homeless community there. I know they will be hugely appreciative of our donations. The boys’ scarecrows looked amazing and it was brilliant to hear how much they enjoyed making them. I am very glad it was not my decision when it came to the judging of them this year!

This week has been another busy one in the classroom and whilst walking around school I was fortunate to hear some amazing socially distanced singing from Year 5. They produced an incredibly impressive tone and clarity and they seemed to love performing their song together. The Arts plays such an important role at Abingdon Prep and it is brilliant to see that the boys have had such a productive term so far with their Music, Art, CDT and Drama.

Year 6 Science were working on pivots and levers in their forces unit and deciding what difference length of levers and pivot points made to their ease of use. Year 8 were looking at analysing different sources in History and analysing photographs of war zone damage and writing letters home from the trenches of World War 1 in their English lesson. It was lovely to hear them talk with such a depth of knowledge of that part of the conflict and there was a real sense of empathy towards those involved in trench warfare.

It has been an unusual term so far but the boys have responded admirably and have shown great resilience, alongside a desire to work hard and improve their knowledge and understanding in all areas of the curriculum. I know they will enjoy their break and return to school refreshed and ready to go again. There is clearly some talk of a ‘circuit break’ currently and we will be keeping a close eye on any changes that the government may decide to put into place and communicate with you over half term how these may or may not affect us. Please be assured that we have plans in place for a range of eventualities.

Finally, I should just say that I hope you all have a terrific half term break and that the boys will be able to enjoy their time away from school.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 9 October 2020

Dear Parents

I hope you have all had a good week. It seems very strange that we are just a week away from half term. It has flown by and it is great to see that the boys seem fully settled and integrated into all of our slightly new routines.

Year 8 undertook their first trip this week with a visit to the Natural History Museum in Oxford. They had the museum to themselves and were able to explore the exhibits and find out all about the natural world linking closely to their current unit of work, evolution and classification.

On my visits to classes this week I was treated to some really focused and impressive work. 8M in Geography were studying plate boundaries and looking at a destructive boundary with the movement of oceanic and continental plates, whilst in English, 8A were giving persuasive speeches to try to convince their peers to sign up for WW1. 8R were looking at Christianity’s place in the UK in RE and using the census data from the previous census 10 years ago and even making predictions of what the next census will look like.

Year 6 were studying the triangle of Speed, Distance and Time that I am sure is familiar to us all from our time in school as part of their topic on ‘Forces’. There was some impressive mental maths going on with some of their answers.

After half term, for Years 3-8, we have taken the decision to start Rugby, in the ‘Ready4Rugby’ format that Rugby’s governing body (RFU) have suggested should take place. Abingdon School have run this successfully with their boys for much of this term so far and I know, speaking to many boys here, that they are very much looking forward to getting back to playing the sport. This will mean that boys will need to bring in rugby / football boots and a gum shield for the next half of term. There is very limited contact permitted in training sessions so the emphasis will be on the core skills of movement, support, evasion and passing. We will be running inter house fixtures in this non-contact format as well so that the boys continue to gain experience of matches and enjoy a competitive element, although external fixtures against other schools are still not permitted in accordance with the governing body directive. The aim is to then return to Football and some Hockey in the spring term, with matches if permitted at that stage by the sports’ governing bodies. There may also be the opportunity for some Rugby 7s for those boys who are keen to be involved.

Sadly, I have taken the decision not to have our Fireworks evening this year. Having spoken to the company and knowing how much fun is had with our light sabres beforehand, we cannot see a way of putting together a display safely for all. This is very sad for us as we all love the event but hopefully we will come back stronger in a year’s time. I will let you know nearer the time about other planned events, such as the Christmas bazaar but at this stage it is hard to see how we will be able to run it with boys needing to maintain their bubble integrity.

Please could I also remind you of our remote working guidance for boys in Y3-8 that are off school that was sent out a few weeks ago, via email. I have attached it again to this link, for your reference.

After further consideration, we have also decided that the boys in Years 3-8 will remain in games kit after half term as their school uniform, whilst the Pre-Prep will remain in their winter uniform. As the weather continues to turn colder, please do keep sending the boys in with their coats to keep them warm at break times. Not having to get changed for Other Half or Games activities is helping us to limit opportunities for prolonged close contact indoors. We will continue to keep this under review as the term progresses.

I hope you all have a good weekend ahead and that the weather is kinder to us this weekend than last.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 25 September 2020

Dear Parents

I hope you have all had a good week and that the first rain of term did not dampen anyone’s spirits too much. The boys have continued to work hard and been busy in school.

Whilst popping into lessons this week I have seen some greatly improved number work from Year 4 in French and perhaps the highlight of my week was listening to the Year 5 wellbeing assembly, with the theme ‘What makes us happy?’ It was great to see the boys really thinking and reflecting on what they valued most in their lives. Friendships, nature, different sporting activities and musical pursuits all came out highly as opposed to material objects like phones or computer games. Taking the time to think about this is really important and I hope that it is something that we have all been able to do a little more of given the current difficulties so many people are facing in this country and abroad.

Included in this week’s mailing is a letter from the Department of Education which they have asked all schools to share to try to help parents with the difficult judgement about what are normal cough or cold symptoms and what may be Covid-19 symptoms which require a test to be taken. Clearly it is the time of year when coughs and colds become more prevalent but we are very grateful to all of our parents for helping us to keep the boys as safe as we can in the current circumstances. If your son is going to be off school for any reason, then please do continue to inform the form teacher and the School office so that we can keep our records up to date.

I am conscious that I said at the start of term that I would be updating parents about uniform in the last week of September. With that in mind, and October just round the corner, I am happy to maintain our current policy of having the Year 3-8 boys in their PE / Games kit with tracksuits and a general use coat, ensuring that the boys are not having to change for any games lessons or Other Half activities with the associated risks of close contact that that may bring. With the weather appearing to be on the turn, please do ensure that your son comes to school with a coat for break times if it is cold and drizzling. They are welcome too, to wear an extra layer which could be a plain (blue / black) coloured sweatshirt under their tracksuit top if they were to feel cold in class. As you will appreciate, we do still need to keep our windows open where possible.

Pre-Prep will revert to their winter uniform from Monday (long grey trousers and warm navy blue winter coat). I will review this again in the lead up to half term and let you know if there are going to be any changes to this policy.

I am looking forward to the first two virtual parents’ evenings next week, for Year 3 and 4 and I know the teachers will be keen to speak with parents and talk about how the boys have settled into the new academic year.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend ahead.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 18 September 2020

Dear Parents

It was lovely to see so many of you via Zoom on Tuesday this week and I hope that you enjoyed finding out a little more about routines and expectations from your son’s form teacher. The boys have continued to impress both in and out of the classroom and it was wonderful to hear our Year 6 boys singing beautifully in their music lesson this week, whilst socially distanced – a sound that has been missing at school for many months.

I would like to thank all of you for your vigilance with regards to any illnesses that your sons may be experiencing. Clearly it is a worrying time but it is so important that we all follow the government guidance when it comes to symptoms. Please could I remind you all that it is vitally important that if your son is undertaking a Covid-19 test (or is off school for any other reason) that you let school know as soon as possible, contacting the form teacher and copying in the school office. If your son has taken a Covid-19 test, once you have the result of that test, then please also let us know as we must record all tests taken as Public Health England will want to see that data should they need to speak with us about a positive case. We will not share any names of boys who have taken these tests as we are not permitted to do so. Keeping us updated with all absences will allow us to follow our protocols and ensure that those children who are well enough to work from home are provided with the relevant work.

It is clearly very difficult at this time to distinguish between normal seasonal cold symptoms and those that could be Covid-19 related. With this in mind, I have added below the official list of Covid-19 symptoms for which you should get your son tested according to PHE guidance.

• new continuous cough
• fever/high temperature
• loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste.

In light of some recent articles from medical bodies regarding symptoms and children, some parents have asked what to do if their son has symptoms that are most likely cold related (sore throat, runny nose etc) and would not normally keep their son off from school. The official government advice, if your son has symptoms that would normally be considered as a cold, is to phone 119 and get their advice on whether your child needs a test and if they should be kept off school. Clearly given the difficulties around availability of testing currently, it is important to speak to those with the knowledge and expertise to advise you.

On a different note, I wanted to share with you a little more about our hot packed lunch offering. Whilst we cannot have all children in the dining hall every day given bubble restrictions and timings, we are very aware of the importance of sustainability within the school and with this in mind, I wanted to reassure you that all packaging and cutlery that is being used to serve these meals is fully compostable and being disposed of in this way. We are taking sustainability very seriously within the current guidelines and will continue to do so in all areas of school life.

Our senior science club is about to embark on an air pollution project with diffusers being used to record air pollution levels on the school site. It is a really exciting project to be involved in with 11 other local schools also taking part, helping to collect data for a local government project investigating air quality around schools. Having written my dissertation many years ago on air pollution, I will be following this project with keen interest, and the boys are really eager to get going with it all.

Year 4 are making excellent use of the terrific weather we are experiencing on their geography field trip today walking along The Ridgeway. Map reading skills and land use will be key aspects of their trip and I look forward to hearing about what they have learned on their return.

It just remains for me to say that I hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy what may be the last of our Indian summer.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 11 September 2020

Dear Parents

It has been a lovely first week back in school and the boys have certainly come back full of energy and enthusiasm. I imagine most of them will sleep well this weekend after being so active during their first week! It is great to see how quickly the boys have settled back into school life and are working with the routines that we have set up for them. The separate play areas seem to be working well and the boys are enjoying a range of break time games.

I wanted to thank you for your patience as we work through our new systems at school. We continue to tweak some routines and as of Monday, we are introducing a drop off for Year 6 – 8 boys on Cox’s field to try to alleviate some of the exit queuing times from the site in the mornings. The boys can then walk across the bridge to their respective entry points. There will be a member of staff on the field to guide and support with this. Entry will only be from the A415, directly opposite the main drive, and exit only from the gate by the pavilion on to the A338. Rachel has sent out an email to parents with further details of this new system including an option to park over on Cox’s Field at 4.10 pick up.

Please could I ask that you continue to be vigilant with regards to developing Covid 19 symptoms and if your son does develop any symptoms then get him tested and let us know as soon as you can. There is a flow chart of actions to take included in this week’s mailing which hopefully is clear when it comes to dealing with symptoms and what you should do. It is really important to let us know if your son does develop symptoms at home or a member of the household is contacted via track and trace. Please do contact us if you have queries over any of this.

I am looking forward to greeting everyone virtually on Tuesday at our parents’ start of term gathering after you have dialled into your form teacher’s Zoom room – details of these links will be shared with you on Monday. This will be a great opportunity to meet the form teachers if you have not already done so, hear how the boys have settled back into school and also for you to get any questions answered that you might have.

Work in and out of the classroom has started straight away and the boys have shown they are ready to learn and keen to progress. I was treated to a very long conversation about healthy snacks and their importance in Reception earlier in the week and I have also been delighted to hear about some creative writing in Year 5 focusing on the use of powerful verbs whilst Year 4 were writing postcards and also learning to use a dictionary to improve their language skills. Year 8 Science was extracting DNA from strawberries, whilst Year 8 Geography was discussing the Alpide belt and the Circum Pacific belt (plate tectonics). It was great to see all the classes so focused on the task in hand.

I hope that you all have a good weekend and that the excellent September weather continues through the coming week.

Best wishes

Craig

Friday 4 September 2020

Dear Parents

It has certainly been an interesting and slightly different summer and I hope that you were able to enjoy some time at home, or on a staycation, or indeed abroad if you decided to travel for your summer break.

It is incredibly exciting to have the boys coming back into school to start the new academic year. It will be great to welcome 37 new boys and their parents to the Abingdon Prep community and I know they will all be warmly welcomed as they settle into life at school.

School will be a little different in terms of routines and remaining in bubble groupings but the essence of school will be the same and the boys will quickly adapt to any new routines that have been set up for them to follow and the teachers will all be there to support and help them settle into the new term. I hope that you have all been able to read through the Q&A document and all the other information that has been shared prior to the start of term.

I have put together a video for the boys to watch before they return on Tuesday (Please click here to view). Please could I ask that your sons watch it before they come back to school as it gives them a few details of key changes they will need to follow on Tuesday and gives them an idea of what to expect. Please be reassured that the teachers will be helping them to become familiar with any new routines over the course of the first few days.

It has been wonderful to have all the staff back in school today ensuring that the classrooms are all set up and that we are fully prepared to welcome the boys back to school. It has been a while since we were all back on site and it will be fantastic to have a full school again on Tuesday after such a long time.

I have no doubt that for some, the return to school is being eagerly anticipated whilst for others, there may be a few worries. We will look after all of them and support them as they get back into the routines of everyday school life and pastoral care will be at the top of our agenda as we start the new academic year.

I look forward to seeing many of you in the car park on Tuesday and thank you in advance for all your help in getting the boys safely into school on day one. If your son is using the bus service to come into school, then please could I remind you that they will need to wear a face covering on the minibus. There will be plenty of staff in the car park to welcome the boys back and guide them to the right entry points via the external hand washing basins.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes

Craig