Events

Mental Health Week 2021

The week beginning Monday 14th June we raised the awareness of Mental Health. The theme this year was nature, which was chosen because research has shown that being in nature has been one of the most popular ways people have tried to sustain good mental health during the challenging year we’ve had.

For Children’s Mental Health Week, we encouraged children to adopt a positive view of every situation (even challenging ones) to help them to cope with life’s challenges, which is vital for our own well being. All the children participated in Mental Health workshops run by a company called ‘Open View Education’. The workshops used drama, performance, puppetry and storytelling, providing the children with a highly interactive and engaging learning experience on mental health and wellbeing. The children learnt; that mental health is a normal part of daily life, how they can talk about their emotions using a varied vocabulary, how and where they can access support, what they can do if we are worried about some else’s mental wellbeing, how they can use mindfulness techniques to feel calm and centred.

In addition to the workshops, all the children took part in various activities in class throughout the week. The week was a great success and consolidated all the wonderful work we do with the children throughout the year during our P.S.H.E.E. lessons. Pre Reception went on a 'nature search' in the school grounds to find and photograph things they liked.

Kindergarten are Pirates 2021

The children in Kindergarten thoroughly enjoyed Pirate Day in the hall with Craig from History Off the Page. They made eye patches, pirate maps, pirate pouches and pirate flags, medicine, dice, doubloons and pirate biscuits. They had to say “aye aye captain” to our captain instead of saying yes!

They went on a magical journey but kept their eyes peeled for mermaids and Captain Black Beard. They found the hidden treasure outside too! Then in the afternoon there was a pirate boot camp where they had to work as teams to pass 4 tests which the children loved doing. To end the day, Kindergarten learnt some sea shanties and listened to a spooky pirate story. Kindergarten had the most amazing fun together using their imaginations being pirates!

Intermediate go back in time

The children of Intermediate thoroughly enjoyed a Florence Nightingale Workshop Day by History off the Page.  Pupils enjoyed making candle stick holders, lockets, applying for jobs at the Scutari Hospital, role playing wounded soldiers being cared for by Doctors and nurses and listening to stories from Florence Nightingale.  Many thanks to the parent helpers who enhanced the children’s day.

Book Week 2021

The theme for this year’s Book Week was ‘Heroes’, celebrating the written word, focussing on the life and times of those who inspire us. Our week began with two author visits from friends of the school and published authors, Laura Gallagher and Tom Palmer. The Pre-Prep department, Intermediate, Transition and Upper Two thoroughly enjoyed Laura’s presentation about her journey to achieving her dreams becoming an author. The Junior classes each had a Zoom meeting with Tom and the teachers were really proud of their responses to his talk about the heroes in his books and people and events that have inspired his writing.

Tuesday was ‘Dressing up Day’ and we were thrilled to see the wonderful variety and quality of the hero costumes which ranged from Charlie Bucket to Captain Tom, Emily Pankhurst, Katherine Johnson and  NHS Workers. Each child brought in a book to accompany their costume was able to explain who their hero was. Thank you to the parents for providing such fantastic costumes.

During the day Upper Two treated Kindergarten to a special buddy reading superhero style, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all the children involved.

The Travelling Book Fair had to be run a little differently this year but thanks to the fantastic support of all of the parents we were able to raise a significant sum to buy books for our school and class libraries. Thank you.

Ancient Greece 2021

Upper Two were transported back in time to 490 BC Athens this week, when Ian from “Off the Page” led a whole day of interactive activities based around their history topic on Ancient Greece. In the morning the children enjoyed various craft activities and made items in the Agora, such as fresco painting and making wax tablets. Throughout the morning the children were also given roles to act out which helped them to gain a deeper understanding of life in Ancient Greece and more specifically The Battle of Marathon.

In the afternoon the hall became the Theatre of Dionysus and the children rehearsed an expressive dance and a short play based on Greek myths. Once the rehearsals were over we were given the news that we had won the Battle of Marathon and in celebration the class were treated to a feast whilst they watched the other groups perform their entertaining dramatisations.

Thank you to Mrs Bell, Mrs Regan and Mr Mounsey, our fantastic parent helpers.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Egyptian Day 2021

On Thursday 15^th April, Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Egypt through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the 14th century BC, the 8th year of Akhenaten’s reign to life in our school. Throughout the day, the children served as workers and slaves finishing the construction of the city; Utopian to honour the god Aten

The children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Upper One completed the following tasks to experience ancient Egyptian culture: Embalming; Carving Shabtis; Making ink and writing; Pottery making.

The children also worked in groups to prepare entertainment, including; plays and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Banquet’.

Easter Hat Parade 2021

The children of Pre-Reception, Reception, Kindergarten, Intermediate and Transition created some excellent hats for this event.  They made a very colourful display in the school hall. From each class a special hat was selected but all the hats were winners!  Thank you to all our parents for supporting the children with these creations.

Please visit the Gallery to see some of the photographs taken.

STEM Week 2021

We celebrated STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Week from Monday 22^nd March – Friday 26^th March. The theme for the week 2021 was ‘Innovating for the Future’. This year’s theme aimed to encourage pupils to think about the incredible inventions that have been made which have had an impact on our lives and inspire young people everywhere to innovate for the future. The children took part in activities ranging from constructing a parachute for an intrepid little friend (a teddy bear), a STEM workshop for the junior children ran by Miss Cutbill and Miss Faulkner from Brentwood School, inter-house maths quiz, and finally a STEM magic show performed by Michael J. Fitch. An enjoyable week had by all!

Space Day 2021

20 Little aliens and space cadets landed in the school playground in March for Transition’s Space Day! The classroom was transformed into a space rocket as a conclusion for our History topic work on Flight Through the Ages. The children had learnt about The Wright brothers, Amy Johnson, Concorde and finally space flight including Neil Armstrong, Helen Sharman and Tim Peake.

The children spent the day learning about the different planets, space travel, completing space themed maths and English problems, arts and crafts and were presented with a certificate at the end of the day!

World Book Day 2021

The whole school celebrated a World Book Day with a difference on Thursday 4th March. We certainly didn’t let the Lockdown quash our passion for books and reading and everyone joined together for a whole school Zoom meeting where both staff and pupils showed off their amazing costumes and props associated with their favourite book character. We were thrilled with the fantastic effort that everyone had made and we saw a tremendous variety of characters from both fiction and non-fiction books.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Pre Prep Zoom Party 2021

Pre Reception, Reception and Kindergarten celebrated the end of their topic in RE regarding different celebrations within families and communities.  Normally this would happen in school and the children would have a 'party' together.  In order that this event was not cancelled Mrs Aronowicz organised a special Zoom Party.  It was lovely to see all the children together on screen.

Christmas Events 2020

Our Christmas celebrations started on Monday 23^rd November where the school community came together throughout the week to film their part of our Christingle service.  On Friday 27^th November, we all came into school wearing our Christmas jumpers whilst doing our Christmas shopping at the Bazaar, which was organised by the P.F.A.

On Tuesday 8^th December, the children watched a pantomime by Don Rae and his Theatre Company in our school hall ‘Cinderella’. We all had an enjoyable day filled with lots of laughter.

On Friday 11^th December, the Juniors had their ‘Christmas Party Day’. The children all had a fantastic fun-filled day; for lunch the children and staff didn’t have their usual packed lunch, we were all treated to freshly baked, hot, yummy PIZZA! Followed by a delicious doughnut!

On Monday 14^th December, the children watched ‘Home Alone’ in the school hall whilst eating popcorn, organised by the P.F.A.

Not forgetting our special visitor’s virtual message, to complete the festive week the children had the privilege of finding their Christmas present under the Christmas tree!  A very busy but enjoyable end to the term.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from some of these events.

Stone Age Workshop 2020

Lower One enjoyed a Stone Age Workshop, this covered an enormous period of time from the Palaeolithic all the way through to the Iron age in the Neolithic. The workshop involved a great range of activities including fire making, mammoth hunting, foraging, looking at artefacts and making a henge.

The class all learnt a great deal and surprised the workshop leader with many thoughtful questions. The children all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day.

The ISA Eastern Regional Art Competition 2020

As with so many events this year the competition had to take place in a very different format.  During the month of  October, we entered five pieces of artwork via an on line platform.  These were:

Upper One - Flying High, a 2D group piece.
Alivia and Max Bowler – Environment Family Challenge Photo
Joseph Mikolajczyk – Black Lives Matter 2D piece.
Lower One – Rangoli Art pattern, group piece.
Kindergarten, Intermediate and Transition – La Fleur, group piece.

Please see the links below to see all the entries and finalists.

Competition exhibits

Results

We are delighted to announce that we received three prizes.  Second place for Alivia and Max Bowler's environment family challenge photo and for Kindergarten, Intermediate and Transition's, La Fleur. Joseph was awarded highly commended for his composition of Black Lives Matter.

African Drumming Workshop 2020

On Tuesday 20^th October, each class participated in an African Drumming workshop to celebrate Black History Month. The workshops were run by the Education Group, within the session the children used traditional African djembe drums and they created sounds and music from the African continent. Every child immersed themselves in a different culture whilst they experienced a feeling of unity as part of a drum circle. The workshop was a great introduction to rhythm and basic percussion techniques.

Filming at Ursuline Prep School 2020

A professional producer and cameraman have been filming at the school in order to produce a virtual experience of our thriving school.  This was the third visit to the site and will be followed by a fourth to film some outside activities.  The children were natural stars and mostly 'ignored' the cameras as instructed and continued their daily tasks!  Visit the Gallery for a preview of some of the filming that took place.

Fitness Week 2020

As part of our initiative to encourage the children to maintain an active daily lifestyle, they have this week taken part in a daily exercise challenge.  The exercises were designed so that the children could do them in the class room.  In addition the junior school visited Stubbers and the all children in the school participated in orienteering lessons.   During regular PE lessons the children were set additional challenges. Watch the video below to see the exercises demonstrated by Mrs Walsh.  Visit the Gallery to see photographs of different events.



 

Sports for Schools

During the week beginning 16^th March, we celebrated Fitness Week at the Prep. The children took part in several planned activities, which started with a visit from a British gymnast. The children watched a presentation and then took part in a workshop.

Sports for Schools brought in Olympic gymnast Isabel Haigh and ex-footballer Ian Miller to give an inspirational speech and demonstration to all children about the importance of never giving up on your dream and ensuring you use failure to help you improve and strive for excellence.All students watched Isabel in awe whilst she demonstrated front and back handsprings and other amazing tricks.

Following the demonstration, Ian set up circuits with all students participating, there was music, fun and laughter throughout the hall.  All students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and all looked  as if they had participated in a cardio workout!

Every day the children took part in Joe Wicks 5 minute classroom workouts this woke us all up and got us ready to start the day!

Finally, Tom Worsfold (an ex pupil) and the director of Fit4Life came into school on Thursday 19th March to deliver fitness workshops which were linked to our P.S.H.E.E. scheme of work ‘Healthy Me’ to every class.

Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training 2020

Here at the Ursuline Preparatory School we hosted the ‘Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training’ on Friday, 6^th March for a total of ten primary schools which consisted of both staff and students. The Diana Award mission is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people. They are proud to be the only charity set up in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales and her belief that young people have the power to change the world. It’s a big mission but there are two things within it that they focus their charity’s efforts on – young people and change.

The Anti-Bullying Ambassador training empowered both the students and staff to change the attitudes, behaviours, and cultures of bullying by building skills and confidence to address different situations both on and offline. The training was delivered through The Diana Award’s renowned peer-led approach. The expert training equipped the students and staff with the tools needed to tackle bullying head on, helping our schools to transform our school’s approach to bullying and create a safe and positive environment for everyone.

World Book Day 2020

The whole school celebrated their love of reading by dressing up as their favourite character for World Book Day. The children’s excitement could not be contained as they entered the hall to see their friends dressed as an array of characters from the pens of Charles Dickens, David Walliams, Lewis Carroll, Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling to mention a few.

A huge thank you to the parents for providing the costumes and continuing to support events such as these which highlight the numerous benefits of reading for pleasure.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Pancake Day 2020

On Shrove Tuesday 25^th  February, we held our annual pancake races. The children had a great time running with their frying pans and flipping their pancakes.  Congratulations to the winning team of St. Patrick's pictured below.

Please visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

STEM Workshop 2020

We celebrated STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Week from Monday 10^th February to Thursday 13^th February. The theme for the week 2020 was ‘Our diverse planet.’ The children took part in activities on this theme, with anything from biological diversity and social diversity, to the diversity of knowledge and STEM careers. The week was aimed at encouraging our young people to think about everyday discoveries and how they affect their lives by exploring science in the world all around us. In addition, the children participated in STEM workshops by SPARKS on Thursday 13^th February. The Pre-prep department experimented with acid and alkali reaction (bicarbonate of soda and vinegar), Intermediate and Transition played with ozobot coding, Lower and Upper One designed their own video game and Lower and Upper Two built a tablet and sphero robot.

In order that all children could access a simple design challenge, there was a paper aeroplane competition for the whole school. Each class has had a ‘fly off’ to identify the most effective plane from their class; now we eagerly await whole school assembly on Monday 24 February when an ultimate ‘fly off’ will identify the school champion! Many thanks to all the parents who supported their children in this challenge.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

World Maths Day 2020

World Maths Day is one of the world's largest global educational events aimed at lifting numeracy standards in a fun and meaningful way. At the Prep, we extended this to ‘Maths Week’ beginning on Monday 3rd February.

The objective of the week was to ‘raise the profile of maths in a fun and meaningful way’ with a focus on practical maths. All children participated in a range of activities throughout the week including an Inter-House Maths quiz, problem-solving investigations with practical maths activities. In addition, the Pre-prep, Infant and Junior school watched a Magic Maths Performance by Michael J. Fitch. The show was incredible leaving both the adults and children completely perplexed as to how Michael made children disappear in his magic triangle (do not worry all children have since been located)! We finished the week by taking part in Number Day, which was on Friday 7^th February. The children took part in lots of fun practical activities involving numbers!

Inter-house maths quiz

1^st – St Patrick’s with 110 points
2^nd – St Andrew’s with 103 points
3^rd – St George’s with 91 points
4^th – St David’s with 75 points

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Shenfield School Dance Festival 2020

On Tuesday 28^th January, three students went to Shenfield High School to compete in the district dance competition; there were 11 schools in total that took part in the event. Lilly Quirk was one of the student judges, she was able to watch all of the dances.  She was given a criteria to look at and mark the students out of 10, each school brought their own judge.  Arabella and Megan performed their dances to a very high standard.  Arabella was awarded 1^st place and achieved the highest mark of the whole competition, 59 points! Megan came in a close 3^rd place.  Overall, the event was extremely enjoyable and successful.

Featured on ISA website.

Upper One experience ancient Egypt 2020

On Thursday, 23^rd January, Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Egypt through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the 14th century BC, the 8th year of Akhenaten’s reign to life in our school. Throughout the day, the children served as workers and slaves finishing the construction of the city; Utopian to honour the god Aten.

The children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Upper One completed the following tasks to experience ancient Egyptian culture: Embalming; Carving Shabtis; Making ink and writing; Pottery making; Making perfume cones.

The children also worked in groups to prepare entertainment, including; plays and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Banquet’.

Christmas Card Competition 2019

We were delighted to welcome Mr. Alex Burghart to school on Friday, 10^th January, 2020.

Mr. Burghart, MP for Brentwood and Ongar visited us to say a personal thank you and offer his congratulations to two of our students who had entered his Christmas card competition.  Congratulations to Ella who was a runner up and to Sophie who illustrated the winning design.

Christmas Round-up 2019

Our Christmas celebrations started on Thursday 28^th November where the whole school community came together at Brentwood Cathedral to enjoy our annual Christingle service.  This was followed by the very popular Bazaar, also known as children's shopping day!  Singing at Beeches Care home was a delightful community event. On Tuesday 12^th December the children in both the Infant and Junior school had a lovely trip to the pantomime to watch ‘Robin Hood’ at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch,’ “Oh yes they did!” We all had an enjoyable morning filled with laughter followed by a delicious ice-cream treat. More singing at the Regimental Chapel.

On Monday 16th December, the Juniors had their ‘Christmas Party Day’. The children all had a fantastic fun-filled day; for lunch the children and staff didn’t have their usual packed lunch, we were all treated to freshly baked, hot, yummy PIZZA!  If that was not enough fun for one day, the children participated in their annual ‘UPS Variety Show’ where all the children in the Junior school entertained us with a performance of their choice e.g. magic, dancing, acting, singing etc. Not forgetting the teacher’s talent, which was showcased in a video especially made for the occasion. Finally, to end the day, the Junior children came back to school to dance the night away at the annual ‘Junior School Disco’ between 6pm and 8pm with the wonderfully entertaining AJ.

The Infants and Pre-Prep had their own special Christmas lunch from their festive lunch boxes following the Lunch Box Parade'.  Christmas music and party games took place in all the classrooms!

Not forgetting our special visitor, to complete the festive week the children had the privilege of meeting Father Christmas and receiving a present!

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from the festive period.

Visit the Video Gallery to see a few clips from the Variety Show.

Pre Prep are Pantomime Stars 2019

Don Rae and his two assistants delighted the Pre Prep children on Friday 13^th December with their pantomime. In the morning, each of the three classes worked with Don to learn their dance routines and to audition for individual parts in the show. Then in the afternoon, we watched and took part in Cinderella. The children absolutely loved the experience of taking part and watching at the same time. Don Rae was a brilliant entertainer who managed to get even the youngest members of our school community on to the stage and have fun. A brilliant day was had by all our department!

Choir at Regimental Chapel 2019

The Choir delighted members of the Regimental Chapel, parents, friends and children from school on Friday 13^th December. They performed carols, Christmas songs and readings and left everyone with a warm Christmas feeling! Thank you to Mrs Khoo, Mrs Parker-Litjens and the School PFA who provided drinks and mince pies for everyone.

We raised over £120 from the retiring collection at the end which went towards the upkeep of this historical Brentwood building.

Carol Singing 2019

Members of our school choir were invited to Little Easton Manor, Near Great Dunmow to entertain and lead the carol singing at their Christmas Market. 23 choir members braved the cold and brought Christmas cheer to the shoppers! The choir brought a joyous and uplifting end to the proceedings in the church, by leading congregational carol singing. The villagers and congregation commented on how smart and beautifully they sang helping everyone feel the Christmas spirit.

London Chess Classic 2019

On the 3^rd December 2019, 15 children from chess club took part in the London Chess Classic at the Olympia in London. During the course of the week tens of schools will participate. On our day there were 16 different schools and about 380 children participating (significantly more than last year). We took children from Transition upwards. The children participate in their own year groups and play a total of five matches. The matches are scored 3 points for a win, 2 for a draw and 1 for a loss. There are individual prizes in each year group for the highest scoring individuals. Schools then submit their five highest scoring children’s totals for the overall daily competition. All of the children enjoyed themselves and played well. As a school we narrowly missed out on coming third as a school (2 points). Individually we enjoyed some success with Ethan Khu winning a gold medal. Arianna Gohil and James Lee winning  bronze medals.

Christmas at Beeches Care Home 2019

On Tuesday 3^rd December 2019, Upper One were invited to join Kindergarten on their weekly visit to The Beeches Care Home. However, it was no ordinary visit; it was an official Christmas Special visit! The pupils in Upper One sang beautifully a range of Christmas carols (both traditional and modern) with the help of the children in Kindergarten.

Both classes then had a real treat…they were all introduced to Father Christmas! Each child had a discussion with Santa and received an individual goodie bag.

Stone Age Workshop for Lower One 2019

Lower One took part in a workshop on the Stone Age provided by the company ‘Portals to the Past’. The children had a 'whistle stop' tour through human history and evolution in the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age before finally finishing in the Iron Age with the Roman invasion of England. The man conducting the workshop was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The children looked at a wide variety of artefacts and participated in a range of activities. All of Lower One thoroughly enjoyed their day.

Anti-Bullying Week 2019

Events began with the children in the EYFS department taking part in Friendship Friday.  They listened to stories about Elmer the Elephant and discussed what we can do to be a good friend.  Themes included how we can give things away without losing anything, for example love and kindness, plus how we can be more tolerant of, and work together with, those around us.


Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and took place this year from 11th - 15th November. Anti-Bullying Week shone a spotlight on bullying and encouraged all children, teachers and parents to take action against bullying throughout the year. The theme this year was ‘Small change. Big difference’. The aims of this week were to help children understand:

Whether it is verbal, physical, online or in-person, bullying has a significant impact on a child’s life well in to adulthood. By making small, simple changes, we can break this cycle and create a safe environment for everyone. Because together, we can challenge bullying. Change starts with a conversation. It starts with checking in. It starts with work together.

Change starts here.

Change starts now.

Change starts with us.

The goal this year was to inform children that it takes a collective responsibility to stop bullying. We want to create empowering, positive messages addressing the fact that when it comes to bullying CHANGE STARTS WITH US!

On Tuesday 12th November the children to wore odd socks for the day, it was an opportunity for children to express themselves and celebrate what makes us unique.

On Thursday 14th November, the children from the pre-prep, infants and juniors participated in age appropriate workshops related to the theme anti-bullying by Stage Crazy.

Upper Two are Film Makers 2019

Six members of Upper Two enjoyed a film-making workshop with media graduate Jacob Macdonald on Wednesday. Jacob explained the film-making process and supported the children in the development of their ideas and planning of their short film using storyboards. Once their plot was mapped out they spent the rest of the morning using their acting talents and filming the action, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Their dinosaur themed footage was then edited to make a two minute film which they premiered to their classmates the next day. Upper 2 enjoyed their informative and fun day and were very surprised at how much work had to go into a such a short film.

 British Values Week 14^th-17^th  October 2019

As part of our British Values Week, as a school we reflected on what our British values are: Democracy, Rule of Law, Tolerance of different cultures and religions, mutual respect and individual liberty. Using our hand as a prompt it helps us to remember what these values are and how we can relate them to our own lives.

The PFA kindly agreed to re-open the UPS café for one week to serve some British delights, (To help our brains and bodies focus!) All week the children were given a sample of Traditional British Foods from around the British Isles at break time.

The UPS Café Menu

Monday: Cream Tea (Cucumber sandwiches and cake)

Tuesday: Homemade Scottish Cranachan with mini shortbread.

Wednesday: Homemade Welsh cakes

Thursday: Jelly and Ice cream.

Our British Food Week marked a tremendous end to our half-term! Thank you to the PFA members and parents who gave up their time and fridge space to make this event run smoothly and memorable once again! There was an air of excitement amongst the children and the staff, who were fortunate enough to share in the treats!

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Inaugural ISA Eastern Region Early Years Meeting

On 3^rd October 2019, the Ursuline Preparatory Pre Prep department proudly hosted the very first Eastern Region Early Years Network meeting in our new school hall. We welcomed 35 practitioners from across the region to lunch and a first class talk from Professor Pat Preedy. She focused on early childhood development and the importance of communication and language. After the talk, the attendees were able to network and share ideas. Finally, they were given tours of the outside play area and the three pre prep classrooms. It was a fantastic event that was very well supported by members. We hope to make the event an annual occurrence.

Click here to read the article that appeared in the recent ISA publication,

Pre Prep are Entertained 2019

On Thursday 26^th September, the Pre Prep children were totally amazed by the magical skills of Michael J Fitch. He did a variety of tricks that held the children completely spell bound and some of the children were lucky enough to be his helper for some of the tricks. He gave us all a “Fitchy £50” as a present and we all left the hall wondering how on earth he did all his magic tricks.

Music Evening 2019

On Tuesday 9th July we held our annual Summer Music Evening.  The children who have peripatetic lessons in school performed to their parents in the school hall.  It was delightful to hear the  children play and perform with their mentors. It was a wonderful evening which gave the children the opportunity to showcase their newly acquired skills.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Pirate Day for Transition 2019

Mrs. Parker-Litjens and Transition dressed up on Wednesday as pirates for their fun packed day
of pirate themed lessons and activities!  The highlight for the children was the treasure hunt
during which the children solved clues and followed co-ordinates to locate the hidden jewels!

Transition Bike Day 2019

Always a fun time, Transition enjoyed their bike/scooter afternoon on Tuesday.  The
children brought in their bikes/scooters with their safety helmets and spent the afternoon in the
playground riding around courses and obstacles in order to support their class topic of forces
and also to improve their cycling/scooting skills!

 Road Safety Training 2019

The School was delighted to invite into school the Essex road safety team.  The children were educated on pedestrian safety through practical and theoretical sessions. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day!

Maths Quiz 2019

On Tuesday 11^th June, four children from Upper Two; Charlotte, Ishita, Sarah and Shayan competed in the Area Heat of the Key Stage 2 Mathematics Inter School Quiz Championship at New Hall Prep School. The children did exceptionally well, working as a team, which resulted in the pupils coming first! This means the children qualified for the Semi-finals which took place on 18th June. The children achieved a very commendable 7th position.

Mental Health Week 2019

At the Prep we raised the awareness of Mental Health Week, week beginning Monday 10^th June. For Children’s Mental Health Week, we encouraged children to adopt a positive view of every situation (even challenging ones) to help them to cope with life’s challenges, which is vital for our own and well-being.

The junior children participated in Mental Health workshops by a company called ‘Worth-it Positive Education’. Worth-it's fun and engaging resilience workshops enabled children to explore a variety of resources for supporting resilience and encouraged the development of positive coping strategies, helping them to better manage the pressures and cope with challenges that they face in their daily lives. The workshops are underpinned by an evidence base of positive psychology approaches proven to build resilience and well-being.

In addition to the workshops, all the children took part in various activities in class throughout the week, ranging from yoga sessions in Spanish to making ‘Calm Me’ jars in art. The week was a great success and consolidates all the wonderful work we do with the children throughout the year during our P.S.H.E.E. lessons.

In Pre-Reception they did some 'Calm Down' yoga together. The children enjoyed the different positions. The children made a' breathing hand' in class and painted their hands orange.  They practised moving their finger up and down their painted fingers saying breathe in, breathe out.

History off the Page 2019

Intermediate took part in a History Off the Page workshop and they travelled back in time to 1854, when Florence Nightingale bravely travelled overseas to Scutari, Turkey during the Crimean War. The children were dressed up as soldiers and medical professionals for the day as they took part in a number of activities led by Florence herself. In the morning, they thoroughly enjoyed a number of craft activities to make essential items and prepare them for their journey. Following that, the children investigated artefacts to uncover to whom different pieces of luggage belonged. Finally, the children found themselves at The Barrack Hospital in Scutari, acting out the various roles of people in the hospital – from cooks, cleaners and gardeners, to doctors, nurses and patients.

It was a very fun, informative and memorable experience for all whom were involved.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

First Aid Training 2019

On Tuesday 23^rd April the staff participated in a First Aid Training Day.  They learnt about resuscitation techniques and the different strategies that should be used for adults, children and infants.  They simulated real life situations using dummies and were taught the correct procedure to follow, from checking breathing to calling an ambulance.  A defibrillator was also put into practise. Anaphylactic shock was treated with an epi pen and dressings and bandages applied for wounds.  The sessions were all interactive and very beneficial.

World War II Day 2019

Lower and Upper Two took a step back in time to 1940 this week as they dressed up and experienced life as evacuees as part of their studies on World War II. Captain Hatfield (Craig from History Off the Page) led the activities and the hall was transformed into the village of Combourwick for the day. The morning took place in the classroom where the children learnt about a variety of subjects including how to put on a gas mask and fire and air raid drills. Everyone really enjoyed using a fountain pen dipped into an ink pot although there were some very ink stained hands (and noses in some cases!) by the end of the lesson.

In the afternoon, the village’s high street was recreated in the hall and it was filled with a variety of shops including a bank and a café. Lower and Upper Two loved taking on the roles of shopper, shop keepers, police officers, and spies and found it easy to immerse themselves into their roles due to the ‘hands on’ artefacts and resources. Trying out Spam sandwiches and calculating change with ‘old money’ were met with varying degrees of enthusiasm but made for an extremely realistic experience!

Language Day 2019

Hola! Bonjour! Salam! Ciao!  The whole school was filled full of activities on Friday 29th March when the school had Language day. There wasn’t a Brexit but the children dressed up in outfits from around the world, completed lots of different, games, practical and written activities and they even said the lunchtime prayer in Spanish! The children all tried lots of different foods from around the World and completed a treasure hunt and craft activity in Spanish and French. It was a very informative and  enjoyable day organised by our Language Team Mrs Lara Cuddigan and Mrs Jenny Gardener.

Mother's Day 2019

On Friday 29th March the Pre-prep department  sang beautifully to their mummies and gave them gifts of cards and flowers.  Visit the Gallery to see some more photographs from this event.

Chess Champions 2019

On Saturday, March 23rd, 3 pupils were selected to represent the Essex U11’s Girls at the EPSCA (English Primary School Chess Association) chess contest in Birmingham.  All three made their way in good spirits to meet the other nine team members and were praised for their attitude and behaviour at the competition.  They were declared as the winners, beating 15 other teams from around the country.

All three girls were presented with their certificates and trophies during the weekly assembly so that this fantastic achievement could be celebrated by the whole school community.

World Book Day 2019

The whole school celebrated their love of reading by dressing up as their favourite character for World Book Day. The children’s excitement could not be contained as they entered the hall to see their friends dressed as an array of characters from the pens of David Walliams, Lewis Carroll, Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling to mention a few. Sightings of Wally, Mr Bump, Pippi Longstocking and even the Bard himself, were also made!

A huge thank you to the parents for providing the costumes and continuing to support events such as these which highlight the numerous benefits of reading for pleasure.

Visit the Gallery to view some of the fantastic outfits!

Pancake Races 2019

A fun-filled event for everyone.  The children represented their houses and the older children taught the younger ones!  Thank you to Mr Lewis for organising the event.

Final placings:  1st St. George - 2nd St. Patrick - 3rd St. David - 4th St. Andrew.



Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Please see some short videos below.

Enterprise Week 2019

Enterprise Week continues to be an extremely successful venture and this year Upper Two raised just under £1,500 for their chosen charities.

The children began organising their fundraising plans in January but had to wait until the majority of entrance exams were over until they could launch themselves into the spirit of enterprise fully. They thoroughly enjoyed planning, ordering and making their craft products and it was lovely to see the children working so enthusiastically in their house teams.

We were very lucky to have a number of speakers this year and had visits from Mr Ellis, Mr Taylor, Mr Quirk (all parents) and Chief Executive of Brentwood Council, Mr Philip Ruck. Their presentations were all very different but equally inspirational and interesting.

Upper Two started their enterprising with two movie afternoons for the older and younger members of the school. They sold a ticket to every child in the school and provided each cinema goer with a bag of popcorn (which U2 had prepared themselves!). The profit from this initiative was then divided equally between each of the four houses.

On the 13^th February the children set up their stalls in the hall with the help of their parents. This is the first time that we have used the hall and the Houses really benefitted from an increase in space and really went to town in the decoration of their tables to ensure the potential footfall was maximised. Each House sold their craft product and at least one consumable products and the children were treated to a range of goodies from samosas to doggy cake pops. This event was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole school and the bigger venue made for a much calmer market place.

By the end of the week all of Upper Two had learnt a great deal, not only about enterprise but also about themselves as team players and future leaders.

We were very proud of the houses’ successes: St Andrew’s £352.66 for Cancer Research UK; St David’s  £404.65 for Dog’s Trust; St George’s £400.92 for the Marine Conservation Society and St Patrick’s  £337.51 for the RSPCA.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Quantum Theatre Teach Maths!

On Wednesday 6^th February the children from the Infant and Junior school watched a show called “The Half-Pint Kid” by Quantum Theatre. It was an exciting tale of mathematical mayhem and dirty dealings!

Hicksburg bank was robbed, there was only one person smart enough to find the missing cash—the Half Pint Kid. He set out on a trail of mathematical clues and skulduggery.  The children has to help him as he fought The Tumbleweed Gang and found out who was really behind the missing money.

For Intermediate and Transition they used a number square to look at number patterns, explored mental methods for addition and subtraction, used number bonds and introduced fractions.

For Lower One and Upper One they looked at the column method for simple addition, subtraction and multiplication, they added and subtracted fractions with the same denominator and introduced decimals.

For Lower Two and Upper Two they built on the above with more complex calculations and added long multiplication, they added and subtracted fractions with different denominators and multiplied fractions as well as converting decimals and percentages into fractions and vice versa.

Book Week 2019

This year’s Book Week activities ensured that the whole school were immersed in reading as an inspiration for becoming writers. Each class tried out DEAR – Drop Everything And Read and spent 15 minutes each day reading their chosen texts.  The children enjoyed taking time out their very busy curriculum and engrossing themselves in their stories, picture books, magazines, newspapers and information books.

Author and illustrator David Lucas visited on Thursday 31^st January and worked with every class from Pre-reception to Upper 2. The children and staff enjoyed his assembly and class session and the children came away with lots of ideas and inspiration for writing their own stories.

The Travelling Book Fair was open at lunchtime and after school every day in Book Week and was a huge success. Thanks to the interest and generosity of the parents we have over £500 to spend on books.  By the end of the week classes had all begun their own collaboratively written class story which will be published and available to purchase after half-term.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Fitness Week 2019

For the week beginning 21st January the whole school have been getting active and enjoying different ways to exercise. The week kicked off with a fun filled dance assembly, pictured below,  followed by daily activities in class including The Daily Mile, Yoga and Fitness Bingo.

On Thursday 24th January, the whole school participated in active workshops led by Tom Worsfold at Fit4Life Group. Each class had an age appropriate session with the team, focused on Healthy Lifestyles in line with our current PSHEE topic Healthy Me: looking at being active, healthy food choices, and body confidence.

We hope the children have enjoyed their active week.  Visit the Gallery to see some more photographs.  Scroll down to see videos.

Egyptian Day 2019

On Tuesday 22^nd January Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Egypt through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the 14th century BC, the 8th year of Akhenaten’s reign to life in our school. Throughout the day, the children served as workers and slaves finishing the construction of the city; utopian to honour the god Aten.

The children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Upper One completed the following tasks to experience ancient Egyptian culture:

Embalming
Carving shabtis
Making ink and writing
Pottery making
Making perfume cones

The children also worked in groups to prepare entertainment, including; plays and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Banquet’.

World Maths Week

World Maths Day is one of the world's largest global educational events aimed at lifting numeracy standards in a fun and meaningful way. At the Prep, we extended this to ‘Maths Week’ (Monday 14^th January – Friday 18^th January).

The objective of the week was to ‘raise the profile of maths in a fun and meaningful way’ with a focus on practical maths. All children participated in a range of activities throughout the week including an Inter-House Maths quiz, problem-solving investigations with practical maths activities. In addition, the Pre-prep, Infant and Junior school watched a Magic Maths Performance by Michael J. Fitch. The show was incredible leaving both the adults and children completely perplexed as to how Michael made children disappear in his magic triangle (do not worry all children have since been located)!

Photographs from this week can be found in the Gallery.



During Maths Week the children from the Infant and junior school took part in an Inter-house maths quiz, all the children worked really hard to do the best they could for their house. The results are:

1st place – St Andrews with 117 points

2nd place – St Georges with 111 points

3rd place – St Patricks with 90 points

4th place – St Davids with 86 points

Well done to everyone who participated!

Christmas Activities 2018

Our Christmas celebrations started on Thursday 29^th November where the whole school came together at Brentwood Cathedral to enjoy our annual Christingle service.

On Friday 20^th November, we all came into school wearing our Christmas jumpers whilst doing our Christmas shopping at the Bazaar, which is organised by the P.F.A.

On Monday 10th December, junior children came back to school to dance the night away at the annual ‘Junior School Disco’ between 6pm and 8pm.

On Wednesday 12^th December the children in the junior school had a lovely trip to the pantomime to watch ‘Cinderella’ at the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford,’ “Oh yes they did!” We all enjoy a morning of laughter washed down with a delicious ice-cream.

On Thursday 13th December, the juniors had their ‘Christmas Party Day’. The children all had a fantastic fun-filled day; for lunch the children and staff didn’t have their usual packed lunch we were all treated to freshly baked, hot, yummy PIZZA!  If that was not enough fun for one day, the children participated in their annual ‘UPS Variety Show’ where all the children in the junior school entertained us with a performance of their choice e.g. magic, dancing, acting, singing etc.

Finally, to finished the festive week the children had privilege of meeting Father Christmas and receiving a present!

Visit the gallery so see photographs from these events.  Christmas Events 2018, Christingle 2018 and Christingle Videos 2018



The Pre-Prep. department began their Christmas activities with a Pantomime theatre production. As you can see from the photographs below the children all thoroughly enjoyed being part of the cast!

Anti-Bullying Week 2018

Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and takes place this year from 13th - 17th November and is supported by SafeToNet. Anti-Bullying Week shines a spotlight on bullying and encourages all children, teachers and parents to take action against bullying throughout the year. The theme this year is to choose respect over bullying. The aims of this week are to help children understand:

The definition of respect.
That bullying is a behaviour choice.
That we can respectfully disagree with each other i.e. we don’t have to be best friends or always agree with each other but we do have to respect each other.
That we all need to choose to respect each other both face to face and online.

On Monday 12th November we invited the children to wear odd socks for the day, it is an opportunity for children to express themselves and celebrate what makes us unique.

We wore  ‘Odd Socks’ on Monday 12th November to celebrate us all being different and unique. On Tuesday 13th November, the children from the infants and juniors watched a production of Hope by the Take Away Theatre followed by age appropriate workshops.

ISA Art Competition 2018

This term children from Transition through to Upper One have had the opportunity to enter their art work into the ISA Eastern Region Art Competition. The school entered both individual and group pieces and we are delighted to announce that Carlos Boxall’s ‘2D Bird Scene’ was Highly Commended. In addition we were awarded two second place prizes for our group piece, ‘In print’ by the children from Lower One and Upper Two and our ‘3D pyramid’ by Lower Two.  Two first place prizes were awarded to the children in Lower One for their 3D butterfly and Alexander Wells’ photograph, ‘Nature’.  Our first place pieces  will now be entered into the National Art Competition which will take place before the end of this academic year. Congratulations to all the children involved.

Leavers 201718 Return!

We were delighted to see all of the 2017-8 class return on Thursday 18^th October.

They spent the afternoon providing information on their schools. They also gave the present  Upper Two class some extremely good advice for their examination preparation and when they start senior school. The most valuable part of the afternoon  was when they all strongly acclaimed that they had chosen the correct school and they were very happy.

Michael J Fitch Entertains 2018

On 27^th September, the Pre Prep department were thoroughly entertained by the wonderful magician Michael J Fitch. He did lots of magic tricks and some of the children were lucky enough to be chosen to be his assistant on some of them. He made the children and the staff laugh for the whole hour.

Space Day 2018

In June, 20 Little aliens and space cadets landed in the school playground for Transition’s Space Day! The classroom was transformed into a space rocket (with the help of mountains of black material, hundreds of fairy lights and boxes of tin foil!)

The children spent the day learning about the different planets, stars and space travel.

Bike Day 2018

In June the children in Transition enjoyed their Bike Day. This was part of their Science work on forces and materials. All children either brought into school their bike or scooter. Mr Lewis devised some courses and races in the playground. It was a very enjoyable day.

Royal Wedding Celebration 2018

On Friday 18th May the school celebrated the Royal Wedding by having a street party in the school playground.  They were all treated to an ice cream or lolly and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Parliamentary visit from Phillip Hammond MP 2018

On Thursday 17th May the school was delighted to welcome the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond. The visit was arranged by the MP for Brentwood and Ongar, Alex Burghart, to meet and listen to the Chancellor in the Ursuline’s recently built school hall.

While the invited guests gathered in the hall to await the arrival of Mr Hammond, they were entertained by the very talented Ursuline Preparatory School choir.  Four of the children from the Ursuline were fortunate enough to meet Mr Hammond and Mr Burghart before The Chancellor took to the stage to address his guests.

Mrs Wilson, Headmistress was very proud of the choir and their performance and how the children conducted themselves when meeting Mr Hammond.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.



 

Secondary School Selection 2018

All of the parents from both of the top two classes are invited to  a annual  information evening regarding the process for transfer to Senior School.

The parents were provided with a very comprehensive booklet providing all relevant information for L.E.A., Academies, Grammar and Independent Schools.

The evening started with an introduction by the Headteacher. This was followed by speeches from; Molly Ramage and Diya Patel about Chelmsford Grammar School, Allegra Hooper on City of London School for Girls, A.Mullerat  on New Hall, K.Nash on her experience at Felsted and was completed by Isabelle Colville and Erin Young on how they have settled at Brentwood School.

The children all gave an enlightening and very confident delivery, which was amazing for children of such a young age.The theme that was evident from all the children was how happy they are in their new schools.

 

Easter Hat Parade 2018

On Tuesday, 27^th March, the Pre-Prep. and Infants took part in an Easter Bonnet parade.  Every child wore  an Easter hat and all received a little Easter treat to say well done.  The judges  choose one hat from each class as the winner. It was a beautiful, colourful display.

World Maths Day 2018

World Maths Day is one of the world's largest global educational events aimed at lifting numeracy standards in a fun and meaningful way. At the Prep we extended this to ‘Maths Week’ (Monday 12th March till Friday 16th March).

The objective of the week was to ‘raise the profile of maths in a fun and meaningful way’ with a focus on problem solving investigations. All children  participated in a range of activities throughout the week including an Inter-House Maths quiz, problem solving investigations and a problem solving workshop. In addition the Infant and Junior school watched a performance by Quantum Theatre called ‘The Adventure of the Missing Number’, as outlined below.

Why, oh why are Create the World Lego cards proving so hard to find? Why are they disappearing from the shops?  Our legendary sleuth and his assistant cannot understand it.  But when a strange new website appears, selling the top collectables at extortionate prices, our heroes begin to wonder if something more sinister might be behind it… Could it be their arch nemesis himself, the brilliant but dastardly Fibonacci?

Intermediate and Transition’s performance looked at number patterns, the four functions and how to solve problems using mental methods, number bonds, using a number line, place value and ordering numbers. Lower One and Upper One’s performance looked at place value, ordering 3 and 4 digit numbers, written methods for the four functions, estimating answers, using inverse operations and problem solving. Finally Lower Two and Upper Two’s performance manipulated larger numbers, looked at rounding, introduce prime numbers, factors, square and cubed numbers, choosing the appropriate methods to solve problems.

Visit the Gallery to find more photographs from this event.

Mother's Day 2018

On Tuesday the children from Intermediate and Transition celebrated their Mother’s by preparing and performing the Infants Mother’s Day Assembly. This year’s theme was ‘SUPERHEROES’. The children thought about what makes their Mum a superhero and what their special powers are.We had speaking, singing. acting, performance poetry and videos. Lots of entertainment. The children thoroughly enjoyed performing and the parents’ appreciated the children’s efforts.

Language Day 2018

Hola! The whole school was filled full of activities and language on Friday when the school had our first European Language day. This year we had a focus on the Spanish language, the children dressed up in Spanish and European outfits, completed lots of different, games, practical and written activities and they even said the lunchtime prayer in Spanish! The children all tried lots of different foods from around Europe and completed small passports with flags and currency stickers. It was a very informative and  enjoyable day organised by our Spanish teacher Mrs Cuddigan.

Book Week 2018

On Thursday, 1^st March, we were delighted to welcome the popular children’s author Tom Palmer into school.  The children came in wearing their sporting clothing as part of our special Book Week assembly.  Each class studied a sport themed book during the week and classes from intermediate upwards had the opportunity to work with Tom, when he also sold his signed books.

The Travelling Book fair proved to be a huge success.  Children brought books to the value of £650. which allowed us as a school to purchase books to the value of £330.

Safer Internet Day 2018

Safer Internet Day this year took place on 6^th February with schools throughout the country taking part.  The theme was ‘Create, Connect and Share Respect: A better internet starts with you’. We had special assemblies for the Juniors, Infants and Pre-prep which were followed up throughout the week with activities within the classes. The children looked at all the different aspects of using the internet. The youngest children shared stories and watched videos whilst the older ones took part in activities such as quizzes, designing posters, role play and reflecting on what they had learned over the week.

Health and Fitness Day 2018

On 8^th February, Upper 2 spent a very productive day working with health and fitness experts as part of their preparation for Secondary school.  Diet, food content, fitness training and a fitness programme were all covered during this very busy day.

The session was taken by Tom Worsfold an ex pupil who runs his own health and fitness company. The other two members of his team were an ex-Chelsea youth football player and the British female kick boxing champion.

The class thoroughly enjoyed the day and provided very positive comments on the evaluation of their experience.

Visit the Gallery to see photographs from this event.

Enterprise Week 2018

Upper Two would like to thank everyone in the school for their support and generous contribution towards their fantastic Enterprise Week fundraising initiatives which raised a phenomenal £1,267. The movie afternoons were a huge success and the money raised was split equally between the Houses. The top class thoroughly enjoyed making and selling their craft items and consumable products and the hall was full of smiling (and often chocolatey!) faces on Thursday. Each House raised the following amounts for their chosen charity: St Andrew’s - £265 for World Wildlife Fund; St David’s - £317 for Rosie’s Rainbow Fund; St George’s - £315 for British Red Cross and St Patrick’s - £368 for Marine Conservation Society. Well done Upper Two!

The top class were also treated to more interesting and inspirational talks from parents this week and thoroughly enjoyed presentations from them all.

Visit the Gallery to see the children enjoying Enterprise Week!

Pancake Day 2018

On Tuesday, 6th February, the school held its annual Pancake Races. The children had a great time, the final placings between the houses were St. David’s 1st, St. Patrick’s 2^nd, St. George’s 3rd and St. Andrew’s 4th.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Egyptian Day 2018

On Tuesday 30th January Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Egypt through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the 14th century BC, the 8th year of Akhenaten’s reign to life in our school. Throughout the day, the children serve as workers and slaves finishing the construction of the city; Utopian to honour the god Aten

The children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Upper One completed the following tasks to experience ancient Egyptian culture;

Embalming
Carving shabtis
Making ink and writing
Pottery making
Making perfume cones

The children also worked in groups to prepare entertainment, including; plays and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Banquet’.

Big Sing 2017

Upper Two  thoroughly enjoyed their Big Sing experience at which schools in the Ursuline community gathered together to reflect and praise. The day was run by CJM Music and took place at Ss Peter and Paul RC Church in Ilford. The liturgy was extremely vibrant and once the children had warmed up they were soon singing, shouting and literally dancing in the aisles! Mrs Macdonald was extremely proud of the children from Upper Two that helped to lead the Liturgy in the afternoon by taking part in a liturgical dance and procession and reading prayers.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

ISA Eastern Region Art Competition 2017

The following exhibits were entered into the ISA Eastern Art competition on the 7^th October.

Group 3D model – Our Penguin – by Transition
2D painting –  Chaotic World – by Transition
3D model –  Celtic Roundhouse – by Upper One
3D model – Our Zebra – by Lower One
Sketch – Time for Music – by Lower Two pupil
Group 2D – The Seasons - by Upper One and Lower Two

The pieces this year were judged by one of Britain’s leading artists, Ben Mosley, an expressionist and action painter.

We are delighted to announce we received five prizes. Second place for Celtic Roundhouse and Our Penguin and three first prizes for Chaotic World, Our 3D Zebra and a pupil's individual sketch, ‘Time for Music’.

The first prize exhibits will now be taken to the national competition in Coventry later this year.

Alex Burghart MP visits Ursuline Prep 2017

On Friday 7th July the newly elected MP  Alex Burghart for Brentwood and Ongar visited the school. He interacted with the children and enjoyed hearing about all their latest exploits.  He also visited the new school hall and was very impressed.



 

ISA Golf 2017

On Monday 26^th June a pupil from U2 took part in the inaugural ISA Golf tournament held at South Staffordshire golf club in Wolverhampton. He was playing against 19 other children aged between 11 to 18. The tournament was a stableford format, where your handicap is taken into account. He was a credit to himself and the school and played extremely well managing to finish 11^th overall.

Saffron Walden Chess Tournament 2017

There were 61 players at the final round of this Essex Junior Grand Prix held in Saffron Walden on 25 June 2017. A year 4 pupil from the Ursuline Prep competed in this tournament and won the U9 category.  This is a major achievement and the school would like to congratulate him on his success.  Please click on the link to read a blow by blow report written my the pupil himself. Chess Report

Roald Dahl  Experience for Lower One

Actor Anthony Pedley who played the part of the loveable, whizzpopping giant in the original stage production of The BFG visited the school for a storytelling session.  All the characters were bought to life in this tale of dreams, queens and giants.  The class of Lower One thoroughly enjoyed the session which complimented their recent literacy studies.

Goodbye and thanks to Sir Eric Pickles

The staff and pupils were delighted to welcome Sir Eric to the school on Friday 12th May.  He visited some of the classes and informed them that this was his last official visit after 25 years in Parliament.  We thanked him most sincerely for his support in the development of the new school hall which will be a very valuable resource for all those involved with the school.

May Procession 2017

On the 12^th of May the whole school celebrated the role that Mary, Our Mother, plays in our faith. Each child brought a floral contribution to school and processed to place their flowers at the foot of our statue of Mary. From there the children processed into the hall where they reflected on Mary’s life, sang hymns and said Mary’s special prayers.

Intermediate travel back in time 2017

On Friday 6th May, Intermediate had their History off the Page experience.  They travelled back in time to 1854, during the Crimean War.  They met Florence Nightingale and helped her on her mission to improve the wartimes hospitals in Scutari, Turkey.

They prepared from their trip by making diaries, candle holders, medals, medicine pots, sashes and lockets.  They also interviewed for a job on Florence's team.  Some became gardeners, cleaners, nurses, doctors, cooks while others were injured soldiers that needed looking after.

Secondary School Selection Evening 2017

This was held in April this year, which is a lot earlier than normal due to a large number of Secondary Schools moving their Open Days to the earlier part of Summer Term. The event was well attended and adopted a new format after feedback from the parents in the upper part of the school.

After Mrs Wilson set out the structure, format and content of the gruelling secondary selection process, she handed over to past pupils. Abigail and Mrs Thornton gave an enlightening presentation on Felsted. This was followed by Francesca and Mrs Stanford explaining in detail the structure and vast opportunities offered at Brentwood School.  The Aung family in the form of Benedict and Sophia  explained the academic aspects of both Chelmsford Grammar Schools and all the wonderful opportunities it offered its pupils.  Finally, Amar and Mrs Patel discussed the wonderful components of the long day at New Hall School and shared with us all the new curriculum and extra-curricular aspects that had been opened to Amar.  All of the children spoke with great confidence and each one expressed with delight how happy they were at their new school.

The feedback from the parents who attended the evening was very positive and they felt the new format of listening to the parents and children was much more beneficial than the previous format.



 

Foundation Day 2017

On April 20^th the school celebrated its foundation with a special assembly. Staff and pupils all wore white flowers to remind us of Mother Clare who formed the school many years ago.  The pupils were entertained by a Magician which they thoroughly enjoyed.  Please visit the image Gallery to see some more photographs from this event.

4NCL Chess Tournament  2017

A year 5 pupil was invited to play in this tournament as part of the chess is schools London team.  It was a two day tournament with three rounds being played on Saturday and two rounds on Sunday.  The first round started at 10.30 following a team briefing and players had 50 minutes each on their clocks, round 2 was at 2 pm and round 3 began at 4.45 until 6.45.  Sunday was an early start at 9.30 for round four and 1 pm for the final round.

This was a national level tournament with the average grade of player being around ECF 90 (English Chess Federation).  Each game had to be recorded by the players and this skill had to be learnt on the spot.  Our pupil played for at least 45 minutes for each round, holding his own against vastly experienced players.  The team took 3rd place overall out of the seven competing so it was a great result.  Following on from this experience he has already entered another two individual tournaments.

Easter Hat Parade 2017

This was a beautiful colourful display and it was very difficult to pick the winning creations. The judges finally decided on the following:
Jessica Davis - Pre-Reception
Ralphie Davis - Reception
Sohpia Maqsood - Kindergarten
Caiden Poon - Intermediate
William Porter Transition

There are more photographs from this event in the Gallery.

Easter Raffle 2017

There were so many prizes that had been donated!  Thank you to all staff and friends of the school who gave items for this raffle.  All the money raised will be donated to St. Issac's House, Uganda.  This is a charity supported by our Chair of Governors, Mrs F. Deery.

Able Maths Day 2017

Two pupils from Upper Two attended an Able Maths Day at Brentwood Preparatory School on 13th March.  The day was hosted by Dr. Tandi Clausen-May, a leading Maths consultant who has been running workshops in schools for many years.  The children very much enjoyed the challenges they were set and interacting with pupils form other schools.

Maths Magic Week 2017

The Pre-Prep Department thoroughly enjoyed 'Magic' Maths with Michael Fitch. Please see photographs below.

Egyptian Day 2017

On Wednesday 8^th March Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Egypt through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the 14th century BC, the 8th year of Akhenaten’s reign to life in our school. Throughout the day, the children serve as workers and slaves finishing the construction of the city; Utopia to honour the god Aten.

The children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Upper One completed the following tasks to experience ancient Egyptian culture;
Lamp working
Embalming
Carving shabtis
Making ink and writing
Bread making
Tomb painting
Amulet making
Pottery making
Making perfume conesThe children also worked in groups to prepare entertainment, including; plays and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Banquet’.

Book week 2017

Thank you to all the parents for supporting your child and the school in this national event.

Visit the Gallery to view photographs.

Police Investigation Training Upper Two

On February 10^th Upper Two had an enlightening training session from a member of the police force. They experienced a practical session on D.N.A. and finger printing and then enacted a crime screen.

They really enjoyed the experience and they all felt they learnt a great deal.

History off the Page – Great Fire of London 2017

On Friday 27^th January, Intermediate had an exciting Great Fire of London experience day. They travelled back in time to 1666, and saw what life was like in the Tudor times.

During the morning session, the children assumed the role of various occupations including Tanners, Apothecaries, Chandlers and Weavers. They learnt the trade and created many goodies to take home.

After news that the fire had spread and most of London had burnt down, the children had to excavate.It was an eventful day, full of fun and facts! The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and learned a lot too!

Pancake Day Races 2017

On Tuesday 28th February, we held our annual Pancake races. The children had a great time with the final scores between the houses being St. David’s 110, St. George’s 101, St. Patrick’s 98 and St. Andrew’s 96.

Visit the Gallery to the see photographs from this event.



 

Essex Chess 2017

Congratulations to two pupils, one from Upper One and one from Intermediate for being chosen to represent the Essex U9 Junior Chess team.

Enterprise Week 2017

The whole school was able to participate and enjoy Enterprise Week organised by the pupils, parents and staff of Upper Two.  They also raised a significant sum of money for their individual charities, Cancer Research, World Wildlife Fund, Red Cross and GTCA.

The children in Upper Two worked well in their teams, producing some very good resources that the children throughout the school purchased.  The parents in Upper Two played a supporting role before and during the event; the children would not have done anywhere near so well without their help.  In addition, some parents came into school to explain their professional careers to the children and the whole class benefited enormously from this sharing of knowledge.

London Chess Classic Event for Schools 2016

On Friday 9th December, a team of 15 Children from the Ursuline Prep took part in the prestigious 'London Chess Classic’ school's event which is held every year at Kensington, Olympia. Over the course of a week over 2000 children attended from around 300 schools all over the UK. During Friday's event the children played 5 rounds of tournament chess against their peers with some outstanding results. This placed the school third overall against some strong competition with two children scoring individual Bronze Medals.  Leo McCarthy was asked just before playing chess on stage how he was going to approach his game, ie be aggressive or tactical and he replied, ‘I am going to try my best’ which epitomises the ethos of the school.

Masterclass in Chess

On Thursday 8th December, 5 children from Ursuline Prep Brentwood were invited to participate in a very unique and prestigious event - to play chess against and receive a Masterclass from 8 of the Super Grandmasters in the World. The event was held at the RAC club in Pall Mall which has a long history of chess enthusiasts.

The Children played in a simultaneous display against the UK number 1, Michael Adams. They then received a Masterclass from the World Number 2 Fabiano Caruana and the Armenian Number 1, Aronian Levon during which the children were invited to answer questions set by the Grandmasters.
The Event was organised by the charity 'Chess in Schools'.

Visit the Gallery to see more photographs.



 

Christingle 2016

On 1^st  December, all the children in the school took part in our Christmas service of Praise and Thanksgiving that also included our annual Christingle. Our celebration began with an Advent focus, including a beautiful dance depicting the Advent wreath, and culminated in the Christingle candles being lit in the darkened cathedral, reminding us that Jesus brings light and life for everyone. The children sang, danced, played instruments, read and behaved brilliantly. The children in the Pre Prep. department formed their Nativity tableau and everyone felt Christmas had really begun.

The total collected from the candles and retiring collection came to£2098.02 which will be shared between the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society, The Children’s Society and Patricia Etap our newly sponsored child, who lives on the WATOTO Childcare missionary village near Gulu in Uganda.  A huge thank you to all those who attended for the very generous donations.

Please visit the Image Gallery and Video Gallery to view media from this special event.

National Road Safety Week 2016

In co-ordination with National Road Safety week, children at the Ursuline Prep entered a poster design competition organised and judged by Knight Build who are currently constructing the new school hall.  Obviously with construction work going on within the school grounds whilst children are maintaining an everyday school life, safety is paramount. Knight Build have been keen to re-enforce site safety and road safety as many large construction vehicles occupy the road and premises.

In the competition younger children had posters to colour and older children designed their own. The prizes were presented by Ivor Goodsite who came into assembly accompanied by Dominic Gallagher ( head of Health and Safety) at Knight Build. Winners are pictured in the front row. All the children were also given a goodie bag of safety related items.



 

Remembrance Day Assembly 2016

Upper One delivered a powerful message during this assembly remembering and honouring those who have sacrificed themselves to secure and protect our freedom.  Mrs Thomas very kindly baked a cake which was shared and enjoyed by all.

Visit from Governors and Trustees

On Wednesday 23rd November the Trustees and Governors spent the afternoon at the school. They visited the new school hall and were delighted with the progress. They also met with the school council, attended some lessons and spoke to staff.  The visit was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

 

British Food Week 2016

Following the great success of our British Food week last year, the PFA kindly agreed to re-open the UPS café for one week to serve some British delights. This was to promote British Values, and all week the children were given a sample of Traditional British Foods at breaktime.

The UPS Café Menu consisted of:

Monday: Cream Tea

Tuesday: Jam Roly Poly and custard

Wednesday: Bangers and mash

Thursday: Jelly and Ice cream.

Many thanks to the PFA for organising and supplying all the food.  The children really enjoyed these special treats.

Upper Two visit Wimbledon 2016

On Tuesday 5th July members of the tennis team were fortunate to get tickets to go and watch some professional tennis being played.  The children really enjoyed the experience.

Mosaic Workshop 2016

Upper Two completed a very exciting and unique project on Tuesday, 17th May.  Paul Siggins and his team were in school all day for a very special mosaic workshop. The children collaboratively designed their art work which represented the school’s ethos and success which Paul then reproduced on a large frame. The class then worked in small groups putting together, tile by tile, their fantastic mosaic. The mosaic will be on show at Prize Giving and will then be displayed in our new hall upon its completion.

Junior Quiz Night 2016

The junior school participated in our annual ‘Junior Quiz Night’ on Wednesday 23^rd March. Mr Young acted as the quiz master with Mrs Danby as the score keeper. The children all had a wonderful time with the final results being:

1^st place = St Patrick’s

2^nd = St David’s

3^rd = St George’s

4^th = St Andrew’s

Well done to all the children and a big thank you to the members of the PFA for providing refreshments, and to Mr Young and Mrs Danby.

Easter Hat Parade 2016

The children all looked wonderful in their Easter hats and the school is very grateful for parents taking the time to create all these colourful displays.  Please visit the gallery to see some lovely photographs.

Hot Food Day 2016

The school was very excited on Wednesday 16th March when the team from Nanna Kay came to educate us all on healthy eating, as part of our PSHEE Jigsaw programme.  All the children were given food to taste as part of the Assembly and drew what they had for dinner the previous night to check if they had eaten foods from the 3 main food groups.  At lunchtime, the school swung into full action as boxes of hot food were delivered to every class and teachers and class assistants became dinner ladies for the day!  It was a tremendous success; the children loved the food and it was all down to the kind generosity of the team from Nanna Kay’s for feeding the school for the day.  A big thank you to Mrs. Tresadern for organising this for us.

 Jack Petchey Winner

We are delighted that an Ursuline Prep pupil has been awarded this prestigious award from New Cambell Netball Club for her consistent levels of endeavour and performance.

World Maths Day 2016

On Wednesday 2^nd March 2016, as part of our celebration of World Maths Day, the Pre Prep department were entertained by Mr Bumble the Maths clown. He told us that “Maths is fun!”. He showed us how to identify the properties of 2D shapes and he build a cube from balloons and challenged us to fit inside. We all really enjoyed the show.

Mother's Day 2016

We were all treated to two wonderful assemblies by the Infants and Pre-Prep Dept.  The infants gave a performance of the Vegetable Plot and told us how much they love their mummies and why.  The Pre-Prep sang some beautiful songs not leaving a dry eye in the house!  Thank you for coming to attend these assemblies and our thanks also go to the staff who have worked very hard to prepare this treat for you.  We hope you also enjoyed the refreshments afterwards.

Book Week 2016

This year Book Week had a historical theme and the children thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities that inspired them to learn more about history through books. On Monday 29^th February author Annabel Claridge came to talk to the infants and juniors and spoke passionately about the three periods of history in which her Bo the poodle series of books are based. The Travelling Books fair has been more successful than ever. The children were very excited about choosing their own books to buy and spent over £1,200 on new books earning a fantastic £600 commission for the school to spend on books. On Friday the 4^th of March the children have amazed us with the variety of characters from history that they dressed up as; from as wide a historical range as cave men and women to evacuees, and as inventive as Calamity Jane, Margaret Thatcher and Albert Einstein.

Enterprise Week 2016

Enterprise week continues to be a very successful venture and this year Upper 2 raised a phenomenal £1,214.47.

Following the intense exam preparation period it was decided that Enterprise week should take place at the beginning of February again.  Ms Ford started off the week with an inspirational presentation and also came with gifts for the children – their own house caps. During the week we were also lucky enough to have presentations from Mr Collett, Mrs Thornton and Mrs Nash who all told us about their enterprising ventures and what and who had inspired them.

During the week Upper 2 were busy preparing their craft items which they sold to the rest of the school, along with a food or drink item, on the Thursday and Friday. For these two days the dining room was transformed into a busy market place and the children (and the parent helpers) thoroughly enjoyed selling their wares.

By the end of the week all of U2 had learnt a great deal, not only about enterprise but also about themselves as team players and future leaders.

We were very proud of the houses’ successes: St George’s £397.32 for Wipe Away Those Tears, St Patrick’s £230.86 for WATOTO (Child Care Ministries in Uganda), St David’s £131.42 for  Barnardo’s and St Andrew’s £227.43 for SNAP and £227.43 for Caudwell Kids.







 

Pancake Day 2016

The four houses in the school competed against each other in a bid to win the PANCAKE Trophy. Every child in the school took part with the older children helping the little ones. Children had to run with their pan and pancake, stopping half way down the course to toss the pancake, then racing to the finish. The infant children performed a simplified version  by running round a hoop mid course before reaching the finishing line. For the children it was an exciting occasion with teams vying for the most points. In the event St. David’s house ( the yellow team) won and the House Captains were presented with the cup. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were looking forward to their edible pancakes at home before the start of Lent.

Greek Day for Upper One January 2016

On Wednesday 27^th January Upper One experienced the wonder of ancient Greece through a company called ‘History Off the Page’. They brought the fifth century BC Athens to life in our school. Throughout the day the children experienced a combination of role-play, practical activities and hands on experience with facsimile artefacts. Our school hall became the Agora in Athens, we were traders and craftsmen with the following tables set up:

Soap Carvers
Fresco Painters
Jewellers
Charm Makers
Potters

During the course of the day the children took on roles of Athenian citizens and slaves at the time of ‘The battle of Marathon’. The children also worked in groups to prepare for the theatre; they entertained us with poems, play and dances whilst enjoying a ‘Greek Feast’.

Christingle 2015

The highlight of our Advent and Christmas preparations has been the Christingle service at Brentwood Cathedral. The whole school community gathered together for this beautiful celebration. Every child from Pre-reception to Upper Two made a special contribution to the service which re-told of Jesus’ birth through scripture readings, the nativity tableau, traditional and modern carols, prayers and liturgical dance. The service culminated in the lighting of the Christingle candles where the message of Jesus as the Light of the World was particularly poignant.

The retiring collection and contributions from the children in the form of their ‘candle collection’ totalled over £2,100  and was shared between the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society, Children’s Society and our sponsored child at the  Bethany School for Girls in the Holy Land.  The school would like to thank everyone for their generosity.

Christmas Jumper Day 2015

The children all looked great in their Christmas jumpers.  All the monies raised (£311.30) from this event will be donated to Save the Children.

Christmas 2015

Please click on the link to see a list of the Christmas 2015 that are planned for 2015!

Visit from the Mayor of Brentwood

On the 20th May 2015, Councillor Mark Reed was appointed as the Mayor for Brentwood by the Brentwood Borough Council's Annual Council.  He recently paid a visit to the Ursuline Prep School and met with some of our pupils.

Greek Day 2015

Upper One spent a thoroughly entertaining and informative day at the Agora in Ancient Athens.  There they gained instruction in the making of Frescoes, Mosaic  tiling,  Pottery, Wax  tablet making, Sculpting, Amulet making  and making medicinal concoctions of herbal origins.  News filtered through of an imminent invasion by the Persian King Darius.  Concern mounted as a runner retuned form Sparta to report the Spartans were too busy feasting to help.  Undeterred the Greek commander lead his troops successfully crushing the Persians at Marathon.  The day ended with feasting and celebrations of dance, poetry , tragedy and  a brilliant  comic performance  of the tale of Medusa’ s  fall into ugliness.  Parent helpers Ms Rammage, Keane, McCarthy, Udall,  Mullerat, and Joy were fantastically supportive and  their contribution made the day outstandingly successful.  Please visit the Image Gallery for some fantastic photographs of this event kindly supplied by Mrs West.

Easter Hat Parade

On Wednesday, 25^th March, the Pre-Prep. and Infants took part in an Easter Bonnet parade.  The children looked wonderful and the staff were very impressed with all the wonderful, different creations.  Please visit the Image Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Role of a Councillor

On Friday 19^th March we were delighted to welcome Councillor Quirk into school. He agreed to present a picture of his role and how that sits within the Government structure in the country.

This was part of the P.S.H.E. programme for the top class which includes the political situation in the country. The children really enjoyed his enlightening and descriptive presentation and learnt a great deal from it.



 

Mothers' Day Assemblies 2015

The children in the Pre-Prep and Infant Departments delighted their Mummies this week with special assemblies celebrating Mother’s Day.  The children all performed beautifully whether reciting poetry, singing or presenting their especially made cards.  Staff, friends and families of the children were all very proud of them and their performances, proven by the many tissues used! Please see more photographs in the Image Gallery.

World Maths Day

On Wednesday 11^th March we celebrated ‘World Maths Day’. Michael J Fitch came into school and did two assemblies, one for the pre-prep and infant department and the other for juniors. The assemblies were packed with maths and magic combined! Michael then worked with every class from Kindergarten upwards on maths concepts with a magic twist to these themes. All the children (and staff) thoroughly enjoyed the day, reinforcing maths is fun (and in some cases magicial)!  Visit Image Gallery to view more photographs.

Book Week 2015

Our poetry themed Book Week has been a huge success. The Book Fair raised a record amount and we have over £500 to spend on books for the library and classrooms. Brian Moses was extremely entertaining and his combination of percussion and poetry was a big hit with children from Kindergarten to Upper 2. Brian worked with Intermediate, Transition, Lower 1 and Upper 1 during the day and the children wrote their own poems and descriptive writing and were clearly inspired by having a published poet in school. The whole school have thoroughly enjoyed the poetry activities they have participated in in class and this was evident when they recited their poem in Friday’s assembly, dressed as one of the characters from their book or poem.  Photographs of all the classes are available in the image gallery.

Enterprise Week 2015

Enterprise was once again a roaring success and U2 raised over £1,100 for their charities.

Mrs L. Ford started off the week with her inspirational presentation and also came with gifts for the children – their own house t-shirts. During the week we were lucky enough to have presentations from Mr Macdonald, Mrs Ellis, Mr Antoniou, Mr Quirk, Mr Bartell and Mr Pepper, who all told us about their enterprising ventures and what and who had inspired them.

During the week U2 were busy preparing their craft items which they sold to the rest of the school, along with food and drink, on the Thursday and Friday. For these two days the dining room was transformed into a busy market place and the children (and the parent helpers) thoroughly enjoyed selling their wares.

By the end of the week all of U2 had learnt a great deal not only about enterprise and business but also about themselves as team players and future leaders. We were very proud of what they had managed to achieve by working so well together.

The totals are as follows; St George’s £274.84 for Save the Children, St Patrick’s £270.97 for the Freddie Farmer Foundation, St Andrew’s £228.41 for Water Aid and St David’s £365.51 for OXFAM.  Please visit the video and image gallery to view more media from this event.

Safer Internet Day

On Tuesday 10th February the whole school took part in Safer Internet Day. A special assembly was held for children from Transition upwards with the focus on all of the good things we can use the Internet for, as well as thinking about the dangers and what we can do to keep ourselves safe when using electronic communications. Classroom activities took place throughout the day including sharing books about esafety, watching videos, taking part in quizzes and making posters to show how we could make the Internet a better place. The photograph shows the children in Pre-Reception sharing the story of Smartie the Penguin.

Pancake Day 2015

On the last school day before the beginning of the half term break, the children and staff celebrated Shrove Tuesday with their annual Pancake Race.  Children from Reception to Upper Two competed for their house.  St. David's were the eventual winners and are pictured below with the house trophy and their frying pans and special pancakes!  Visit the Gallery for more photographs from this event.

History off the page with Intermediate

History off the page company came into school to work with Intermediate on ‘The Great Fire of London’. The morning session consisted of the children taking on the role of a junior apprentice during 1666 from the following trades; Apothecary, Leather Workers, Chandlers, Schoolhouse, Bakers and Weaving. The afternoon session consisted with an archaeological investigation using ‘dig boxes’. The children had to dig for an artefact and then answer questions relating to that artefact. Finally the children looked at paper evidence such as letters, diary entries and receipts along with maps from that time.  Visit the school Gallery to see more photographs from this event.

Intermediate recreate the Fire of London

Intermediate recreated the ‘Great Fire of London’ to prove how effective a fire break  is in stopping a fire. The children observed that the fire spread quickly through the houses that were close together.

Christmas Festivities 2014

The Christmas season was celebrated in many ways at the Ursuline Prep.  The younger members of the school enjoyed a Lunchbox Parade as well as a visit from an entertainer.  Christmas Party Day  and  our 'Special Visitor ' was enjoyed by all.  The Talent Show by the Junior school children was very entertaining.  A DVD of this event has been passed to all the class representatives so that the parents can share in this event. Visit the gallery to see some photographs taken during this time!

 

Christingle 2014

On Thursday  the 4^th of December the whole school community gathered together at Brentwood Cathedral for our annual Christingle service. The service was led by our Upper 2 children who retold the story of Christ’s birth from the scriptures whilst the Pre-Prep department performed a Nativity tableau. The whole congregation joined in with the traditional carols and were also treated to solos and more modern carols by the choir and a liturgical dance performed by members of Upper and Lower 2. The service concluded with the lighting of the Christingle oranges and candles which was a moving experience and a beautiful beginning to our Christmas celebrations.  Thank you so much for your generosity – the total amount collected for the Christingle candles and retiring collection amounted over £2,200.

Upper One Remembrance Assembly

On Tuesday 11th November Upper One held their class assembly themed on the One Hundred year anniversary of the beginning of World War One.  Against a backdrop of poppies inspired by the art installation at the Tower of London, children spoke of the memories of war, the way we remember those who fought and of the sacrifice they made for our freedom. Children stood among the hundreds of poppies they had made and scattered petals as the school sang hymns and prayed for world peace.  It was an inspiring assembly and everyone praised the class for their efforts.

Intermediate Guy Fawkes Assembly

Intermediate performed their class assembly to all their parents on Thursday 6th November. The children have been learning about Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot which was therefore the main focus of our assembly. All the children in the class had their own speaking part which they knew off by heart, in addition the assembly contained acting, singing and a firework dance (with a lot of shaking of Pom-poms).

World War II Day

On the 6^th of October U2 were taken back in time to 1940 for the day. They all arrived in school dressed as evacuees and spent the morning in the classroom learning psalms, wartime money and how to build and Anderson Shelter – all by the light of a paraffin lamp. The morning ended with an air raid practice and by lunchtime the children had first-hand experience of how difficult it must have been to grow up as an evacuee in the forties. The afternoon was spent in the hall which had been transformed into a village complete with shops, café and bank. We were joined by some of our parents who looked wonderful in their 1940’s attire. The children really enjoyed running the shops and buying items from their shopping list, unsurprisingly the café with its corned beef sandwiches was not so popular!

Easter Bunnies Galore

Thank you to the PFA and all the Easter Bunnies and Ducks for a very enjoyable Easter Egg Hunt.  The weather was kind and all the children enjoyed exploring the school grounds in their quest for chocolate eggs!

Easter Bonnet Parade 2014

Our annual Easter Bonnet competition took place this week. Children paraded in their home-made hats, decorated with feathers, chicks, eggs and many other Easter related items. The child with the best bonnet from each of the infant classes was presented with a chocolate bunny and all the others were given mini eggs as consolation prizes. The children thoroughly enjoyed making and modelling their colourful bonnets.

Mother's Day Celebrations 2014

This week the Pre Prep and Infants held their Mother's Day Assembly where children sang and recited poems to their mothers before presenting them with handmade gifts, cards and a pot of miniature daffodils. The mums were very touched by the talent of their young children and after the assembly they were treated to tea and biscuits.

 

Christmas 2013

The children celebrated the festive season in many ways.  Please see below a selection of photographs from events throughout the Christmas season.

Girls Challenge Mums to Netball Match!

On Monday 23rd September the Upper Two Netball Team played against their mums.  The adult team came on strong and were winning 8 -7 three quarters of the way through, however the Upper Two Netball team very quickly changes their tactics and ended up winning the match with a final score of 14 - 9.  Well done to all the Upper Two girls!  This was a very enjoyable event and the school would like to take this opportunity to thank all the mums and Mr Carolan who were involved and made this match possible.

June Brown Visits

The Ursuline Preparatory School recently opened its doors to the ultimate Eastender, June Brown, otherwise known as Dot Cotton.

 
Taking a break from her role as launderette manageress and Albert Square do gooder, June visited the school for filming for a BBC1 documentary.  The documentary formed part of the BBC season, 'When I'm 55', which examined the situation of the elderly in Britain today.  June and the production crew visited the Ursuline on 'meet the grandparents day', a scheme which the school has been running in order to encourage its pupils to connect with their older family members.  Headmistress Pauline Wilson remarked, "It's only through sitting down and talking with their grandparents that the children can really begin to see them as people with past lives of their own and not just as grandad or nana.  This connection is vital for young people today to truly appreciate the older generation, understand about their family history and just take time out to listen and learn from those who might have something important to say."

In an entertaining twist, June was filmed as she observed the children doing some filming of their own.  The pupils were encouraged by June to create a short clip during which they interviewed their grandparents.  The actress prompted the children with questions and seemed delighted when the children uncovered stories that they never knew.  One pupil even discovered their grandfather had found an unexploded bomb when he was the same age!

In a day where the generations came together, stories were told, fun was had by all and the school's pupils became part of a vital message - that listening and respecting the older generation is vital to creating a successful new one.