Extra-Curricular Clubs Fair
Next Friday 31st March we are going to have our first 'Extra-Curricular Clubs Fair', where the pupils will have the opportunity to find out about and sign up for clubs in the Trinity Term. Click here to view the list of clubs available. We would really appreciate it if you could have a conversation with your child to direct them as to which clubs they should sign up for next Friday.  If you feel it would be helpful for them to write down the clubs they should sign up for before next Friday that would be a huge help - click here. Once we have collated the registers we will confirm with pupils the clubs they have signed up for. This will also ensure we have accurate registers. The clubs will commence on Tuesday, 25th April. To assist our musicians, I can advise that next term's commitments for the instrumental ensembles are as follows:

Fiddle Fiesta 26th June
String Group, String Quartet

Windband Day/Concert 27th June
Brass Group, Clarinet Group, Flute Group

Staffing
I am delighted to announce that Jonathan Dean has been appointed as Head of Sport & PE from September.  Mr Dean joins us from Montsaye Academy where he is Director of Sport and PE. He has represented his county in football, gained county representative honours in both Rugby Union and Athletics, cycles and is a passionate skier. Mr Dean, who comes with outstanding references, will be with us for a few days next term to meet the pupils as part of his handover.

I am also very pleased to announce that Chris Pickett will be joining us as Acting Deputy Head, Pastoral whilst Mrs Claire Petrie takes her maternity leave. Mr Pickett, who has been on a sabbatical this year, is Head of History. We look forward to welcoming both of them to their new posts in September.

Finally…
I am looking forward next week to congratulating the pupils who are joining me on Monday and Tuesday for the “Headmistress’ Mystery Treat”.  Pupils are nominated by their Form Tutor for being exemplary in upholding the WPS code of conduct and having set and achieved their goals. It gives me great pleasure to recognise and acknowledge these pupils. Next week will be another action packed one with our Final Awards Assembly and the Club singing competition. The competition is as much between the pupils as it is the staff! Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

Pupil Reports
At the end of this term you will receive a report detailing your child’s effort for Lent term and the progress they have made in each subject based upon their individual target and the WPS standard. The WPS standard aims to provide you with context about your child’s ability in relation to age expectation at WPS. Pupils in Year 8 will also receive subject comments from their teachers.

Here is a sample of some of the highlights of the Prep School's curriculum from this week including reports from Mrs Simmons, Miss Kingstone, Mr Dennis, Dr Fordham and Mrs Drye:

Year 4 Activities
It has been another busy week for Year 4. On Tuesday they visited the Pre-Prep to watch the Year 3 play - The Blue Crystal; on Wednesday they were making sparklers in the Science Lab using bunsen burners for the first time and on Thursday they were entertained by Steve Cole the author of over 150 books, some of which were very familiar to us, including, Astrosaurs and The Young Bond. 

The competition on TT Rockstars has continued this week with many improving their times tables recall speed and although the top ten positions have been fluctuating daily, I can report that this morning the top 5 were:-

1st Finn Davern (Rock Legend) ave. 1.38 seconds per question
2nd Sulaiman Ali (Rock Legend) ave. 1.42 seconds per question
3rd Thomas Fry (Rock Star) ave. 2.28 seconds per question
4th Thomas Ravest (Rock Star) ave. 2.29 seconds per question
5th Jack Malton (Rock Star) ave. 2.33 seconds per question

Well done to all those who have worked hard practising times tables this week.

The Year 4 pupils were set the challenge of finding out what an Anglo-Saxon village looked like and what it would have contained in order to design and build their own including all the resources that the villagers would need to survive. They earned points for each of the following sections: what the village looked like, the resources they included, whether they had labelled each section saying why it was included and how well they worked together as a team. They all enjoyed the task and got fully involved with making everything from trees to churches.

Year 7 Tudor Day
The Prep School was pleased to welcome back History off the Page for our annual Year 7 Tudor Day. On Tuesday, 21st March, a wide range of Tudor activities took place, from candle-making to embroidering initials, as well making their own soap and discussing rumours about Henry VIII. In the afternoon, pupils feasted, sang songs, danced and performed plays as part of a lavish banquet. Many thanks to the parents who came to help.

Year 8 Geography Trip
On Wednesday 15th March 2017 we took 72 Year 8 students on a residential trip to Dorset, to study coasts as part of their Geography studies. We spent the afternoon exploring Lulworth Cove, Stair Hole and Durdle Door. We learnt about the geology of the coast and the effects of erosion. After arriving at the PGL site at Osmington Bay, we had a tour of the facilities before dinner and an evening activity entitled “Passport to the World”, which involved students finding geographical clues and answering questions around the site. On Thursday, we spent the morning in Weymouth examining some of the Human Geography features of the settlement and why its situation on the coast is so important for the town. After eating lunch on Weymouth beach, we travelled to Chesil Beach. On the beach, students conducted various methods of data collection, including beach profiling, Longshore Drift measurements, pebble analysis and wave counts, before learning more about the coastal defences in place. Students gathered lots of data and information that they will be able to use in their forthcoming assessed write-up. In the evening, we used the computers on site to draw beach profiles and start thinking about their findings before some free time (where many students played basketball and other sports). On Friday morning, we woke to sunshine. Students got hands-on searching for fossils on Osmington Bay beach. Some students even found some impressive ammonites! In addition to the academic side of the trip, students also had a go at abseiling, before having lunch and travelling back to school. All in all, a very successful trip. Thank you to all the staff who attended the trip and made it a success and well done to the students on their behaviour. They were superb ambassadors for the school, following our high expectations and treating each other and the environment respectfully. They should all be praised on how they conducted themselves.

Pun and Laughter with Steve Cole
Writer of over a 100 books and plays, “author” Steve Cole came to give three adrenaline fuelled presentations to the whole of the Prep School. It was akin to having Michael McIntyre in the Hall! He began by entertainingly  informing Years 7 and 8 about a catalogue of fascinating inventions he unearthed during his research into the 1930’s for his four Young Bond books: Shoot to Kill, Heads You Die, Strike Lightning and Red Nemesis (out in May). During the day, the theme of “chucking imagination” at real life dominated; he encouraged pupils to take what they know and to “squash” it with something unusual (like superpowers or alien life forms) and see what emerges. His humour was wildly infectious, whether when relating the story of his disgust of salad and the terrifying tank-like figure of his childhood dinner lady or how early underwater photographers blew up a boat in order to provide sufficient light with which to take a colour image. Aged 6, instead of writing a normal diary entry for his teacher, he related the tale of a Sunday afternoon in which deadly dustbins attacked his house. Her encouragement started him on his career, and he continues to be astounded that he is paid to do something he loves (even if it means he sometimes has to write for 48 hours at a time and once suffered from repetitive strain syndrome for two years!). As a writer for Dr Who, he also loves time travel, which leads to manifold possible scenarios for a writer. He advised the children to investigate the possibilities as he has done in Secret Agent Mummy, with his Egyptian sleuth popping up wherever or whenever he decides to set a book. Word play also abounded, with puns adding to the fun and laughter, in a reading from Incredible Ink. He even played the ukulele. What a lot of fun was had by all, another great way to spend an English lesson.                        

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Graffiti
Last week, we had an incident of graffiti in the girls' toilets in the Bedford Block where there was an offensive message written about a member of staff.  All girls from Years 5-8 were spoken to about this.  Unfortunately we have had more graffiti written in the same toilets this week and so I have invited our local police support officer in to address the girls on Monday next week. I am hopeful that a clear message from a police officer should act as a deterrent in future.

Mobile Phones
I write to remind parents that the Prep School maintain a strict rule against the use of phones in school. Phones may only be brought into school when there is a clear and obvious need i.e. pupils travelling to school by bus or train. In this instance, pupils are asked to deposit their phone in to the Prep Office for safety and then collect at the end of the school day. Please could I ask that if you know your son or daughter is bringing their phone to school that, in accordance with our handbook, you advise the Prep Office, preferably by email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org, to ensure that the phone is registered. It would be most helpful if you could also include the telephone number of the phone, which could be useful in the event of it being lost.

1. A pupil who needs to communicate to parents during the school day has free access to the school phone from the Prep Office.
2. The Clarioncall e-mail system enables the school to communicate accurate and instant information to you, for example regarding trip or ‘away match’ pick-up times and important forthcoming events.
3. The Late-Prep telephone number is 07887 911046 and can be contacted between 4.00pm-6.00pm to update waiting pupils in the event of lateness or to ask for pupils to come down to the collection point to save you leaving your vehicle.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

ABRSM Exams
Candidates for this term's ABRSM exams should have received details of their exam time by post. Schedules are also displayed in the playground and in the Music block. Candidates should arrive 15 minutes before their exam start time, and must remember to bring their music (including piano accompaniment music where applicable) and their instrument. All music must be original publications; photocopies are not permitted.

Year 5
Year 5 pupils should remember to take their brass or wind instrument home at the end of term, so that they can practise over the Easter holiday, in preparation for next term's Windband Day.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 27th March 2017
Wednesday 29th March

Club Football
Seniors (Yr 7 & 8) – 2.30 KO
Juniors (Yr 5 & 6) – 2.30 KO

Club Netball
Seniors (Yr 7 & 8) – 2.30 KO
Juniors (Yr 5 & 6)  – 2.30 KO

Sports Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 27th March - Croatia
Tuesday 28th March - Congo
Wednesday 29th March - Zimbabwe
Thursday 30th March - Taiwan
Friday 31st March - Chile

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Easter Sports Camp
Monday, 3rd-7th April
Lots of sport and lots of fun! Early Booking and Sibling Discounts available – don’t miss out! For more details and a booking form click here.

Mrs Petrie
Camp Leader

Sainsbury’s Active Kids
Sainsbury's have launched their Active Kids vouchers scheme which runs through to 2nd May. We have been collecting vouchers for many years now and have exchanged them for a number of sports items for the pupils. Any donations will be greatly appreciated and these can be handed in to the Prep Office.

Information to parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. 

A super last day today as the Lent Term draws to a close. A special Easter Service, followed by our Clubs Fair, where the pupils signed up for after-school activities next  term, an extended lunch break (enjoyed by all), followed by our Final Awards Assembly where we celebrated the achievements of many of our pupils and finally, Club Singing! A truly superb musical performance and special congratulations to Jaguars with their joyful rendition of  'Only You'.

Working with children, watching them learn and experiencing their enthusiasm and laughter is a great joy. Children, like adults, need time to rest, opportunities to select activities they enjoy and lots of time relaxing with family and friends. May the next few weeks be a time of refreshment for us all. I wish you all a wonderful break from the usual routines and hope you will have time to stop, consider, reflect and regroup and enjoy real quality family time.

Happy Easter!

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

Exam Timetable
The exam timetable was circulated this week to you by Clarion. This will enable you to support your child in planning their revision for exams. Individual subjects will ensure that students know the material that they need to revise in the run up to exams.

Dr. Fordham
Head of Geography

Library
Wow what a term! Pupils reading over 1 million words, many quizzes taken and targets met. Prizes galore! Totals for the year to date:  3,337 books read and 145,783,753 words read.
We had two author visits Will Mabbitt and Steve Cole who were brilliant and very inspiring. We also had the Scholastic Book Fair and we are now able to purchase over £600 worth of books for the Prep School Library which is a big help and thank you to all those who supported this.
Watch out for the next one coming next year. During World Book Day there was a 6 Word Story competition where we had many entries, the winners were:

Y4 Phoebe Lewis
“The puppy arrived, the cat left”

Y5 Jack Bates
“The Dictionary ate all the words”

Y6 George Leahy
“He took the shot on. GOAL”!

Y7 Polly Ross
“Mummy?” she was still not moving…”

Y8 Tom Kenney 
“Chickens bought pigs, Pigs bought happiness”

Y8 Maria Warren-Thiemann
“Cliff, edge, falling! Hands grip…safe”!

All in all a great Lent term and when we get back we will have a brand new Library. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Easter and ask all of our pupils to keep on reading. Let’s all become Reading Champions!

Mr A Medhurst
Prep School Librarian

Maths Challenge
Four pupils represented Wellingborough in the Regional Finals of the UK Maths Challenge. Anoushka Khot and Pippa Chadwick from Year 8 and William Heath and Kai Tanna-Shah from Year 9 went with Mr Richardson and Mr Baddeley to Peterborough last week. After four very close and tense rounds the students narrowly missed out on the National Finals and came a very creditable 3rd out of 22 schools who competed. Well done, a fantastic achievement!

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

School Council and Charity Feedback Assembly
Three charity and council reps presented the School with their fundraising and council ideas from this term.

Charity Reps:
Dishan Patel, Annabelle Woodward and Archie Filios

Council Reps:
Niall Mahon, Bethany Baxby and Thomas Ross

The Charity reps and Mrs Ferguson have been working hard on creating fundraising activities. For charity so far this term, we have raised £1697.19 for the British Heart Foundation from events such as club dodgeball and “Jump Rope For Heart” skipping competitions. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your generous support.

The Council reps and Miss Clark have also been working hard on finalising school suggestions for the School Council. A sample of the suggestions voted for from our suggestion boxes are below:

1. More Mufti days- We will be having a Charity Mufti day - on Friday 16th June we have a non-uniform day.  You can pay £1 to wear mufti as long as one of the items is red.
2. To have homework diaries as well as Show My Homework - we will be reviewing this next term.
3. More toilets near the playing fields - This is a big project - It's a no for now
4. Toilets in the girls’ changing rooms - This is a big project - It's a no for now

Thank you for all your suggestions and donations for School Charity and School Council.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Music Exam Results
We expect that the results of this term's ABRSM and Trinity music exams will arrive over the Easter holiday. Results will be distributed to pupils at the beginning of next term.

Music Lessons and Ensemble Rehearsals
Please note that individual music lessons and ensemble rehearsals will start up again on the first day after the Easter break. Please remember to practise over the holiday!

Music Lesson Timetables
To view week commencing Tuesday, 25th April timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Achievements
Molly Barnes (Y8) came 1st with the Kilburn Senior Choir at the Rotary Festival and 2nd at the Kettering Eisteddfod.  Molly also took part in the RAD East of England ballet awards.
Lili Howe (Y6) was awarded the U14 Most Promising Speech & Drama competitor and most humorous piece award at the Kettering Eisteddfod and was selected to perform in their celebration Gala.  Lili also took part in the East of England RAD ballet Awards and won her section.
Isabelle Thomas (Y7) represented Wellingborough School with both of her ponies at the College of West Anglia. She came 2nd in the 70cm on Izzie Whizz, 3rd in the 80cm and 2nd in the 90cm on Duke.

Greshams Hockey Festival (25th – 27th March 2017)
Mr Houghton, Miss Clark and I were fortunate to take 11 gorgeous girls on this well-known tournament weekend. The team were very excited on the Saturday morning as we went on the road trip to the north Norfolk coast. We settled into our dorms in the Edinburgh boarding house and after a hearty lunch got straight down to business. 

The outdoor 7 aside matches were played as a friendly festival over the three days. The girls excelled in their team performances winning 7 out of the 9 matches. Notable games were against Saltires with a 10-0 win and the hosts Gresham’s with a 1-0 victory. The team scored 29 goals.

The indoor was the tournament to go for glory. In these matches the squad was split into an A and B team 6 aside with Maria playing in goal for both teams. Matches against Thistles, NHS and Bilton Grange in the pool stages took us undefeated into the semi-finals. The A team lost 1-0 in their semi-final against Town Close (who were the eventual winners) and the B team had an epic 26 penalty flick battle to eventually be victorious and win through to the finals. The game against The Perse was very even and finished 0-0 so penalty flicks were needed again and unfortunately, on this occasion, The Perse came out on top to take the title leaving us as runners-up. Our girls were a delight to be with throughout the weekend. Their hockey skills were outstanding and their behaviour exemplary. Well done team!

Mrs Whitaker

A message from Miss Kingstone
As many of you will know I am getting married during the Easter break. If anyone would like to see me as I come out of church then you are more than welcome to come along to St Mary the Virgin Church in Wilby on Saturday, 15th April. I am expecting to emerge at around 12:40pm but please be prepared for flexibility in this time - it is a Bride's prerogative to be late, after all!

Miss Kingstone
Year 4 Teacher

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Tuesday 25th April - Denmark
Wednesday 26th April - Ethiopia
Thursday 27th April - Afghanistan
Friday 28th April - England

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

OWs Cricket Coaching
The Old Wellingburian Cricket Club will be offering cricket coaching for Prep School Years 4 and 8 on Thursday afternoons from 4.30-6.00pm starting on the 27th April 2017. The cost will be £10.00 payable to the Old Wellingburian Cricket Club before the 4th May. If you wish your child to attend please contact:

Simon Marriott 07802 728839 
Chris Malton   07928 403699
Matthew Ingram 07718 584516

Macmillan Golf Day
Friday, May 26th
In a break from tradition, we are opening up the Macmillan Golf Day at the Embankment Golf Club to men as well as ladies! It is a fantastic day, lots of fun, good food, reasonable golf as well as raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The cost for the day is £35 and this includes, morning coffee, lunch (with wine), afternoon tea as well as 18 holes of golf. For further information and to reserve your place, please contact Ruth Bowe - rbowe@wellingboroughschool.org.

Sainsbury’s Active Kids
Sainsbury's have launched their Active Kids vouchers scheme which runs through to 2nd May. We have been collecting vouchers for many years now and have exchanged them for a number of sports items for the pupils. Any donations will be greatly appreciated and these can be handed in to the Prep Office.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. 

A great start to Trinity term! Activities were quickly underway with the launch of the Fiver Challenge competition to our budding Year 6 entrepreneurs, Year 4 hearing all about their Hilltop Residential camp next week, a very successful Year 6 visit to Peterborough Cathedral, Year 7 and 8 competing in the Maths Challenge and Year 8 Tigers and Panthers cooking up a storm in their Cookery Masterclass. We also introduced our new Habit of Mind for this half term: “Applying past knowledge to new situations”. We all learn from experience. When in a new and complicated problem, we will often use experience from our past. We call on our store of knowledge and experience to help explain or solve each new challenge. A useful thinking disposition as we head towards our final term of learning.

"To remember is to understand. I have never forgotten it. A good judge remembers what it was like to be a lawyer. A good editor remembers being a writer. A good parent remembers what it was like to be a child."

Anna Quindlen

Finally, I cannot conclude without referring to our amazing new library. It quite simply sparkles and shines with the feedback from the pupils exceeding expectations. When asked what extra addition they would like came the response: a fish tank. I am sure that would be fully supported by Sydney the resident cat! When you are next at School, please pop your head in and have a look.

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

Timetable Change Next Thursday
Due to pupils missing two Monday’s because of INSET and Bank Holiday, next Thursday, 4th May, the School will be teaching Monday timetabled lessons however, after-school activities will remain as Thursday. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Prep Office.

Library Renovation
At Wellingborough Prep School we recognise the huge benefits of children developing a lifelong love of reading and with this in mind; I am delighted to tell you about the complete refurbishment of the library, which took place during the Easter break. The new space is relaxing, modern, and inspirational. The new colour scheme is stylish yet comfortable and appealing to all ages. We have also rearranged the area and installed new lighting, to make the space more usable, and purchased a number of new seats and pods to promote reading. Students were given class tours on Tuesday so they could, get to know and, enjoy the new layout. Their comments included the words, ‘surprising’, ‘fun’, ‘bright’, ‘colourful’ and ‘jazzy’. They also made excellent suggestions for other things we could add. 

Year 6 RS trip to Peterborough Cathedral
Imaginative and creative juices were in overdrive on Thursday as Year 6 spent a day immersed in the atmosphere, art, architecture and spiritual ambience of Peterborough Cathedral exploring how symbolism permeates every aspect of Cathedral life. They were guided to, and looked for, symbols of Love, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Peace, Sacrifice and Trinity, and created tissue-paper stained glass windows on one of these themes. A valuable and memorable day for everyone, for which our grateful thanks go to the Education Department of Peterborough Cathedral, including Mark Short, a retired teacher whose father is an OW!

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Parent Talk ’Your child’s Online World’
During the day on Tuesday 9th May, all of our pupils will be spoken to about keeping safe online, an issue which is at the forefront of both school and society in today's world.  There will also be a parent talk on 'Your Child's Online World' taking place in the Prep School Hall from 5pm-6pm. We welcome all parents to this informative talk. 

Cookery Masterclasses
Year 8 Tigers were excited to be the first Club to attend the Year 8 Cookery class. Having learnt about how the kitchen works effectively to feed everyone in the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior School, it was time to learn to cook a variety of main courses and desserts in preparation for the Gala Dinner. All the pupils produced beautifully presented dishes which were delicious. Many congratulations to our budding young chefs and thank you to Chartwells for a superb evening. The Gala Dinner is on Friday, 12th May and we look forward to sampling the delights of their hard work in a few weeks.

Form Period 
This week all pupils set themselves goals to be achieved by the end of the Trinity Term.  Have a chat with your child to see what their goals are and how they are going to work towards achieving these over the next few weeks.  All pupils were encouraged to set a personal and an academic goal.

Healthy Eating
All pupils were spoken to this week about our drive as a Prep School to promote healthy eating from this term.  As a reminder our new initiatives are:

1. 'Fruit Friday' where the only snack pupils are allowed to bring in is fruit - the more exotic the better!
2. Cake sales for charity, when the pupils will be encouraged to bring in fruit items such as fruit smoothies to sell.
3. A weekly 'Healthy Recipe' from our Head Boy and Head Girl – see below

Healthy Recipe
To view this week’s healthy recipe, chosen by the Head Boy and Girl, for a low-fat breakfast muffin bursting with fruits please click here.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Chapel Choir
Chapel Choir will be singing at the Senior School and Prep School Evensongs on Thursday 4th and Thursday 11th May. Choristers should meet at Chapel straight after school on both days. The services begin at 4.30pm and should finish by 5.15pm.

Music Achievement
Congratulations to Olie Crossman (Y4) who successfully passed his Grade One drum exam with a Merit.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Achievements
Nicole Mukhtar performed at the Royal Albert Hall with her Dance School on 22 April.
On Saturday afternoon Isabelle Thomas, her pony Duke and myself travelled to Bury Farm Equestrian for the NSEA County Championships. Izzy and Duke competed in the warm up classes in preparation for the championship classes the following day. On Sunday Izzy was joined by Keira Stoute and Lauren Church for the 90cm Championship class. The first round was in the outdoor arena where all 3 girls and their ponies produced lovely clear rounds. The second round was in the indoor arena, all three rode good rounds with the team finishing on 15 faults putting them into 12th place out of 30 teams. In the afternoon a very tired Izzy and Duke competed in the 1m individually going clear in the first round and 8 faults in the second round. Hopefully we will have a team of 4 next year which will give us a much better chance as the top 3 scores count, the vast majority of schools had 4 riders in each team.
Charley Knight (Y7) and Lili Howe (Y6) were selected to perform at the Castle Theatre this week in Dance the Night Away with Pasha from Strictly Come Dancing.  In addition, Lili was recently awarded 7 first places and 3 aggregate awards at the Northampton Festival of Dance.

Sports Announcements
Welcome back!
The sports department would like to welcome everyone back for the summer term and yet another very busy couple of months ahead.  There have been a couple of changes in the setup of teams for this term and they are as follows:-

Year 5 & 6 Boys' Cricket are combining for this term and will be known as Colts A, B, C, D & Warriors

Year 5 & 6 Girls’ Cricket are also combining and will be known as Fillies blue, red, green, orange and pink (for the first half of this term)

Year 7 & 8 Girls’ Cricket are combining and will be known as U12/13 A, B, C, D

Year 7 & 8 Boys’ Cricket are combining and will be known as Prep School 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc

As you will see from the calendar there is a lot of sport throughout the term with weekly cricket, tennis and athletics events Years 4 to 8. We look forward to your continued support!

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 1st May 2017

Tuesday 2nd May 
Boys’ Tennis
U13/12 v CCS – Home – 4.15 start

Wednesday 3rd May
Boys’ Cricket
1st, 3rd, Colts A, Colts C v King’s Ely – Away – 2.45 start
2nd, 4th, Colts B, Colts D v King’s Ely – Home – 2.30 start

Girls’ Cricket
U13/12A, B, C & D v King’s Ely – Home – 2.30 start
Fillies Blue, Red, Green v King’s Ely – Away – 2.45 start

Thursday 4th May
Girls’ Tennis
U13/12 v NHS – Home – 4.15 start 

Saturday 6th May
Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis 
U11/10 Laxton Junior Tennis Tournament at Oundle School – 0930 start

Girls’ Cricket Clothing
All girls will be required to wear their maroon top, skort, tracksuits and games socks for all practices and matches.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Tuesday 2nd May - Finland
Wednesday 3rd May - Djibouti
Thursday 4th May - Bangladesh
Friday 5th May - Fiji

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Wind in the Willows Read Through
All cast must attend the read through on Tuesday 2nd May at 16.10 in the Senior School Hall.

Keith Hargreaves
Cripps’ Housemaster, Teacher of Drama and Librarian

Wellingborough Cancer Support
Ladies Fashion Show
Wednesday, 10th May
Senior School Hall, Wellingborough School
7pm for 7.30pm start
Tickets £7 to include glass of wine, available from Ruth Bowe rbowe@wellingboroughschool.org. All ex high street fashion at 50% discount inc. Wallis, M&S, Top Shop, Next.
 

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

This week, I have had a number of interesting conversations with parents about future employment prospects of our Prep pupils. It may seem very early to be worrying, however, parents are right to be thinking about this. These parent concerns are often fed from direct experience in their own workplace who recount their frustrations over their inability to recruit young people who can problem solve or think independently, who lack creativity and have weak social skills. They describe graduates who have a wealth of subject knowledge but who lack the skills to use that knowledge and build upon it.   

We are in a unique position as a Prep School to unlock a child's creativity and passion for learning at a time in their lives when their willingness to learn and zest for discovery is at its height. We are on a journey to give the children the initial input and encourage them to run with it, to share, to have a voice and input into what and how they learn and for their learning to be relevant. Our job is not just to teach but to help the pupils learn. Children have a greater chance of remembering something if they have acquired the knowledge through their own investigation rather than having been taught it. 

I have seen much creativity and independent thought in and out of the classroom this week. From a variety of Maths lessons in the new flexible learning space, to dynamic English lessons in the refurbished library, an exciting earthquake simulation in Geography to Year 4 enjoying their outdoor adventure, all of them putting many of their Habits of Mind into practice including taking responsible risks, interdependence and applying past knowledge to new situations. 

6LW Assembly
Full marks to 6LW for their inspiring assembly on Roger Bannister and his journey in achieving the amazing feat of a 4 minute mile. The pupils talked about his journey to success, almost giving up when he performed badly in the Olympics and then setting himself a goal and striving for success. On that day in 1954, he did something that medical experts once called impossible. In a recent interview Sir Roger Bannister said: “There is no absolute limit, the human spirit is indomitable.” A great way to start the day.

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

Year 6 Fiver Challenge
This week we have had a number of visitors in School.  On Wednesday morning we were pleased to welcome Mr Matthew Horton to lead an assembly for our Year 6 pupils.  He talked to them about the skills which are essential to develop in order to be successful in business and he shared some ideas with them as to how they could approach the upcoming Fiver Challenge.  The pupils were all enthused and are now desperate to get started on their businesses.  They will use their Life Skills lessons during this half of term to plan their ideas and then when they return after the holiday, they will receive £5 each with which to make a profit during the month of June.

IAPS Art Meeting
On Thursday the Prep School hosted the annual IAPS Art meeting. Delegates from schools across the region met in the Art Atrium, took a tour of the Prep School, visited the Gent Centre to see Design Technology in action and managed to sneak into the Senior School where the Art GCSE exams had only just finished taking place that morning.  This was a wonderful opportunity for Wellingborough School to invite fellow Art and Design Technology teachers into an environment where Art is of high priority, whether displayed in classrooms, Art rooms, communal spaces like the newly refurbished library or as installations within the school grounds.  Discussions this year took place about visiting artists, workshops and Art trips, followed by the Art teachers sharing good practice and showing examples of artwork undertaken in schools. It was a really successful day indeed and we received some very favourable compliments regarding the visual work on display throughout the School. Our thanks must go to Mrs Roberts for organising and running the event so successfully.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Whole Preparatory School Photograph – Monday, 8th May
Weather permitting, there will be an official Preparatory School photograph on Monday, 8th May.  Will you please ensure your child wears the formal winter school uniform, i.e. long sleeved white shirts and ties for both boys and girls. Thank you for your support.

Parent Talk ’Your Child’s Online World’
We are all great at telling our children not to talk to strangers or teaching them to ride a bike. Are you confident in preparing them for their online life and the risks that might be involved? Join us in the Prep School Hall on Thursday, 9th May (5pm-6pm) to explore and understand the internet, as your children know it, so you can help keep them safe online. For more information email Gemma Saunders, Wellbeing Manager - gls@wellingboroughschool.org.

Netflix Safeguarding Alert
You may be aware of a Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" which is becoming popular with some of our students. The series is fictional and covers the theme of a girl's suicide. It is rated 16+. There are graphic scenes and very strong emotional content and mental health organisations have expressed concern that the series, which is targeted at the teen audience, may have significant impact on younger viewers or any viewer who could be vulnerable to the content. There are several online articles regarding this series but you may find this link, targeted at parents, useful - click here.

Healthy Eating
Thank you to all pupils and parents who have supported our drive for Healthy Eating since the start of term.  Our Fruit Fridays, in particular, have been a huge success and it is great to see our pupils enjoying healthy alternatives during break time. Long may it continue!

Please click here for this week’s healthy recipe for a Frozen Yoghurt Layer Cake.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Lions cooked with great aplomb!
Walking over I told the students they would be impressed by what they could create. They were unsure and replied "we're terrible at cooking"! Once in the kitchen they all set too, working fantastically together. Josh and James stood out and made a tasty chocolate dessert that went down very well. The food all of the students produced was top notch, and the parents who came up to taste it were hopeful they may get more involved at home! I am definitely looking forward to the Gala dinner.

Mr Whitby
Club President Lions

Singers' Recital
There will be a Singers' Recital on Monday 8th May at 4.30pm in the Recital Room, featuring performances from Prep and Senior pupils. Refreshments will be served from 4.10pm and family and friends are warmly invited to come along.

Exam Results
Congratulations to all pupils who took music exams last term. Please click here for a list of results.

Chapel Choir
Chapel Choir will be singing at the Prep School Evensong on Thursday 11th May. Choristers should meet at Chapel straight after school. The service begins at 4.30pm and should finish by 5.15pm.

Orchestra Rehearsals
Please remember that there will be no PS Orchestra rehearsal on Thursday 11th May, due to Evensong. Rehearsals will resume the following week.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Achievements
Lottie Heaver (Y8) was awarded with consolation winner in the Rugby Lawn Tennis Club Grade 4 event, won a tournament at Northampton County Lawn Tennis Club and came 3rd in a singles and doubles tournament at the Abington Park Open.
Charlotte Holmes (Y8) danced at the Royal Albert Hall in Stars in the Round with Limelight Theatre School.
Libby Hawkins (Y8) has been awarded Grade 5 with Merit for Musical Theatre Performance

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 8th May 2017
Monday 8th May
Boys’ Cricket
1st v Bedford Modern – Home – 3.15 start
2nd, 3rd, 4th v Kimbolton – Home – 3.15 start
Wednesday 10th May
Boys’ Cricket
1st & 3rd XI v St Faith’s – Away – 2.30 start
Colts A, B & C v St Faith’s – Home – 2.30 start
Girls’ Cricket
U13/12A & B v St Faith’s – Away – 2.30 start
Fillies Blue, Red & Green v St Faith’s – Home – 2.30 start
Thursday 11th May
Athletics meet
U13/12 St Faith’s meet – Away – 4pm start
Cricket
U9C v Spratton Hall tournament – Away – 3pm start

Team Photographs
Details on how to order Lent team photographs are located within parents’ login. Please follow the instructions in the ‘orders‘ section, where you can zoom in to see a close-up of your picture and choose from a range of options. You will need the Photo ID and Photo Key for the photographs. Click here.

Interested in Coaching Rugby?
Want to help others improve their game?
Mr Williams, our Head of Rugby and Rugby Football Union Coach Educator, will be running two coaching courses this term. A Rugby Ready course on Tuesday 20th June (5.30pm-8.30pm) and a Scrum Factory course on Wednesday 5th July (6pm-8.30pm). Both courses focus on safety, improving techniques and making the game fun and rewarding for those involved. The courses are open to parents, staff and pupils at Wellingborough School, and are official RFU courses. The RFU will keep a record of your attendance as part of you continued coaching development. The courses have both theory and practical elements. The courses will commence in our Overstone building and we will then head outside for the practical elements of the courses. The Rugby Football Union will invoice the School and a charge of £15 will be added to your end of term bill. If you are interested please send the following details to Mr Williams, by email  no later than Tuesday 23rd May - lw@wellingboroughschool.org.

Name
Date of Birth
Emergency Contact Number
Please state which course (or both) you will be attending

Cricket Helmets
Any parents/pupils who wish to buy a School branded cricket helmet, as per last year, can now do so direct through Masuri. Please go to the website: clubshop.masuri.com. The Schools Shop will drop down from the SCHOOL TAB where you can then enter the password for Wellingborough: WS2017.

Sports Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 8th May - Iceland
Tuesday 9th May - Gabon
Wednesday 10th May - Bhutan
Thursday 11th May - Samoa
Friday 12th May - Bolivia

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

The Nearly New Shop
We would be very grateful for donations of sports uniform, in particular cricket tops. All items can be left in the Prep Office – they must be clean and in good condition otherwise they will be donated to charity. You will receive 50% of the sale proceeds in due course.

County Junior Development Centre Hockey Sessions at Wellingborough School
All ages from U12s to U17s
This year's county JDC sessions will be held at Wellingborough School over four Tuesday evenings from 6pm-7:30pm on May 9th, May 16th, June 6th and June 13th. These sessions cover age groups from U12s to U17s, and offer the best of county coaching and give you the chance to progress to the County Academy Centres and to play county hockey – for more information click here. These sessions are also exceptional value at only £20 for all four sessions combined. To book a place please complete the online booking form - click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. 

Congratulations to 5JF on their assembly today. They performed a play written by one of their own classmates, Douglas Kidd. It was entertaining, well written and put a smile on our faces for the day. Playwriting is a real skill, so well done to Douglas. I would also like to applaud our performers who sang in our Singers' Teatime recital on Monday. A superb afternoon of entertainment. Opportunities to perform at a young age cannot be underestimated. Also, congratulations to the Year 8 persuasive speaking finalists. It was great listening to a variety of entertaining and informative speeches. Particular mention to our winners:

1. 1st – Ria Loibl
2. Joint 2nd – Tom Kenney and Pippa Chadwick
3. Joint 3rd – Jonathan Rimmer and Lottie Heaver

I was reminded, following the recent "Online World" session run by our wellbeing managers, of the following article I read recently with some practical ideas to enable our children to function on social, emotional and academic levels. I hope you find it interesting too:

Limit technology, and re-connect with your kids emotionally:

1. Surprise them, share a smile, put a note under their pillow, play football together, have pillow fights.
2. Have family dinners, board game nights, go cycling, go to outdoor walks with a flashlight in the evening.

Train delayed gratification:

1. Make them wait! It is ok to have ‘I am bored’ time – this is the first step to creativity
2. Gradually increase the waiting time between “I want” and “I get”.
3. Avoid technology use in cars and restaurants – talk to each other.
4. Limit constant snacking.

Don’t be afraid to set the limits. Children need limits to grow happy and healthy:

1. Make a schedule for meal times, bedtimes, technology time.
2. Think of what is good for them - not what they want/don't want.
3. Children need breakfast and nutritious food. They need to spend time outdoors and go to bed at a consistent time in order to come to school ready for learning the next day.

Children change the moment parents change their perspective on parenting. Parenting is a hard job. Help your children succeed in life by training and strengthening their brain sooner rather than later!

WPSA Family Fun Evening - Save the Date
Please note a change of date for the WPSA Family Fun Evening to Friday, 16th June. More details to follow next week.

Mrs Knox
Headmistress

This week it was lovely to have the excited chatter of the Year 4 pupils back on the first floor corridor after their successful Hilltop trip. Last week seemed very quiet without the usual stream of pupils going past my office to their form rooms! Mrs Simmons has written a report on their adventures in Norfolk and the learning experiences that they enjoyed whilst there.  Dr Fordham held a meeting this week with members of the WPSA to get parents' views on some proposed changes and developments in our reporting and assessment systems.  They had a really useful discussion and I hope parents enjoyed the opportunity to talk about the academic elements of their children's time in the Prep School.  In addition, I enjoyed observing a Year 7 Art class this week where all the pupils were actively engaged in their learning and were able to talk about their motivation behind the pieces of art work that they were producing.

Year 4 Make Hilltop their Habitat of Choice!
On Wednesday 3rd May fifty-two Year 4s set off to Norfolk for three days of adventure and fun with their friends and peer group. It was a great opportunity for them to face a range of challenges putting Growth Mindset principles and Habits of Mind to the test. The children were delighted to find ensuite bathrooms and bunk beds in their lodges on arrival but were keen to get cracking with the afternoon activities. There were rotating activities for the six groups each with specific goals in mind: Firebuilding; Assault Course; Big Zipper; Archery and High Ropes Challenge.

1. The Bushcraft activity required great teamwork and communication skills. Working together did require some compromise and adjustments but the children were quick to realize that collaboration would reap the best results and that camaraderie is a super feeling. Keeping the fires burning long enough to boil a kettle required a lot of perseverance, the right balance of silver birch twigs to branches, some blowing to reignite fading embers and countless trips up and down the hill to collect dwindling fuel supplies.
2. To some the Big Zipper seemed daunting but to others the highlight of the trip. It was lovely to see the children encouraging each other and applauding those who overcame their fears. Similarly, the High Ropes was an opportunity for all the children to push their own boundaries with the challenge by choice of how far and how high to go. Archery was about focus and ‘Striving for Accuracy.’ Could you hit a balloon with a bow and arrow? The most laughter was heard on the Assault Course as the children conquered team and individual challenges. One group were told they were the best group the instructor had ever taken with their can do attitude and enthusiastic support for each other! It always makes us proud when Hilltop staff compliment Wellingborough pupils on their behaviour and ability to work together.
3. The rock pooling on the final day was a huge success, as the tide was in, the sun was out and creatures unusually willing to be scooped up in nets and eyed with ‘wonderment and awe.’

The children have created lifelong memories, strengthened bonds of friendship and have even more stories to share. They left happy and buzzing, proud of their achievements and increased independence. Thanks go to Mrs Stevens for organizing the trip once again and to Mrs McDougall, Mr Hill and Mr Pickett for making the children feel safe, supported, challenged and empowered.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

The Online World
This week Gemma Saunders and Steve Hill presented to all pupils in the Prep School about online safety. Pupils were shown an age appropriate presentation on the positives of the internet as well as potential risks and consequences these pose. The pupils were incredibly attentive and asked some interesting and sensible questions. Many parents also attended the parent talk 'Your Child's Online World' and for those parents who were unable to attend but are interested in this area please click here to view the presentation. Thank you to all pupils and parents for their support with this topic.

Lions Club Meeting
As this week is Mental Health Awareness week, Lions Club meeting focused on what could help or hinder our state of mind. We started by watching a video about the issue and discussed how it was an illness that is unseen so some find it hard to appreciate its effect. Click here to view. We then had a Q&A about our own experiences and shared what we already knew. We then had a super talk from a Year 10 student Izzy who has personal experience of coping and dealing with some of the issues we had pinpointed. It was great to have the input from Izzy, as she told the Club how they should not feel embarrassed about their feelings and pointed them in the direction of our fantastic welfare department. Gemma and Steve have helped a number of students. Following the talk the year groups broke off to write a list of the good and bad things that may affect their state of mind and each group then shared some of their ideas. It was an informative experience for the students and staff.

Mr Whitby

Jaguars Cookery Masterclass
The Jaguars Cookery Masterclass on Monday evening was a culinary success. Chopping, dicing, folding, peeling, juicing, boiling, baking, stir-frying. The result: five delicious dishes. Thai salmon noodles, chicken and coconut rice, veggie quesadillas, apple and ginger crumble and the best dessert in the world... baked chocolate mousse with a passion fruit cream. Mouth watering and super tasty. Well done to my super enthusiastic chefs. Enjoy the Gala Dinner.

Mrs Whitaker

Wolves Cookery Masterclass
So the final kitchen prep is in place. Wolves found themselves put through their paces in the School kitchens this week. Chopping, mixing, baking, frying and of course TASTING their way through an impressive array of fine dining cuisine in preparation for the Gala Dinner. All thoroughly enjoyed the experience and learnt a huge amount, which I’m sure they will only be too pleased to demonstrate by making dinner for their parents at home! Well that may be a stretch too far, however we are all looking forward to the Gala Dinner and I’m sure, as always, they will all rise/soufflé to the occasion!

Mr Russell

Charity Skipathon
On Tuesday, 16th May from 12.10pm in the Robinson Playground, pupils will be holding a sponsored ‘Skipathon’. Thank you to everyone who has sponsored pupils. All sponsorship should be in by 9th June and this will be added to our fundraising total for ‘British Heart Foundation’.

Club Evensong
On Thursday we welcomed parents to our Panthers, Tigers and Wolves Evensong, this allows the Charity representative from these Clubs to speak about the fundraising they have done so far and what they have planned next. Yasmine Hickey, Anna Gouldstone, Dishan Patel, Barnaby Childs and Talha Zafar did a brilliant job explaining what the British Heart Foundation does with the donations it receives. Another £100.50 was generously donated by parents and pupils, which is greatly appreciated. A special thanks to the Chapel Choir who sang beautifully.

Please click here for this week’s healthy recipe for salmon fishcakes.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 15th May 2017
Monday 15th May
Boys' Tennis
U13/12 v CCS – Away – 3.45pm start
Girls' Tennis
U13/12 v NHS – Away – 3.45pm start
Wednesday 17th May
Boys' Cricket
3rd XI v Wisbech – Home – 2.30pm start
5th & 6th XI v Bedford Prep – Home – 2.30pm start
Colts A v Lincroft – Home – 2.30pm start
Colts B v Lincroft – Away – 2.30pm start
Girls' Cricket
U13/12A, B & C v NHS – Away – 3.45pm start
Fillies Blue & Red v NHS – Home – 2.30pm start
Saturday 20th May
Girls' Tennis
U12 A, B, C & D v Stamford High – Home – 11.30am start
U13A, B, C & D v Stamford High – Home – 11.30am start

Achievements
Charlotte Holmes (Y8) sang and danced with Limelight Theatre School at the Althorp Food Festival.
Harriet Askew (Y8) passed her Grade 5 ballet exam with Distinction.
Arya Mukherjee (Y5) passed RSL level 1 Award in Musical Theatre Performance with Distinction held by Stagecoach Performing Arts School, Northampton.
Jack Bates (Y5) represented the County U10 Tennis team, in the two day Lionel Cox Tournament. He also represented and captained the County U10 Cricket team in a match played at Stowe School. Jack scored 39 not out, with the County team winning. 
Isabelle Thomas (Y7) competed at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Representing the Farmers Bloodhounds along with 3 other hunt members in the Inter-hunt Relay, Izzy was the youngest competitor in the competition. There were 16 teams and Izzy's team won all their heats which secured their place in the finals. They came second overall.

Golf Embankment Tournament 2017
Last Friday four of the Prep School students joined a number of Senior students to pit their wits against the golfing gods on our own Embankment course. For some this was a return to the event and sport after the winter break, trying to shake off the rust from the driver and rediscover the touch round the greens. This year we also had some playing their first ever round, after only swinging a club in anger in the days previous. Although there was the occasional shaky swing and missed 2 footer all played some excellent golf with the final scores reflecting the improvement all have made. Congratulations to the eventual winner Harry Cadman, shooting an impressive 45.

St. Faith’s Athletics - Thursday 11th May
Well done to all those pupils who competed for the School at the first athletics meeting of the season in Cambridge this week. All our runners performed extremely well, with many achieving new personal best times on the track. The team as whole were very successful, finishing second out of eight in both the Junior and Senior sections of the competition. Performances of the day and first placings were from Grace Finn-Kelcey in the Year 5 hurdles, Charlie Sales in the Year 5 100m, Lucas Brazier in the Year 6 200m, Ollie Buchan in the Year 6 800m, Ethan Brazier and Ben Sales in the Year 7 100m, Etienne Maughan and John Mills in the Year 7 200m, Will Middleton in the Year 7 800m, and the Year 7 sprint relay team of Ben, Ethan, John and Etienne. Huge congratulations to all the athletes, and let’s all now look forward to the Spratton Hall meeting in two weeks’ time.

Netball News
An inspirational match was enjoyed by our Netball players on Saturday 29th April at Leicester Arena. Loughborough Lightning vs Wasps, two Super League teams containing world class players contested a fast paced match with Wasps winning 57 - 54.  If you would like to know more about Netball and get tickets to events please see these websites for details: England Netball and Netball Super League.

On Sunday May 7th, the East Midlands U12 and High Fives tournaments took place in Nottingham. Lottie Griffith competing for Future Print U12 won the tournament and four Year 6 players (Isobel Balzan, Francesca Benham, Ella Lewis and Annie Burgess) representing Northants JMs came 3rd out of 16 teams in the U11 High Fives tournament. Well done to all!

Prep School Open Singles Tennis Tournament
Girls' - Thursday, 15th June
Boys' – Thursday, 22nd June
To enter please contact Mrs Whitaker. For more information click here.

Prep School Mixed Double Club Tennis Competition
Thursday, 6th July (4.30pm-6.30pm)
For more information click here.

Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Old Wellingburian U11s v Bugbrooke and Nether Heyford
Sunday 9th May
Captained by Matthew Dobson, OW's batted first; some extremely good batting from Christian Evans (15) Matthew Dobson (20) and Alfie Redfern (7) took OW's to a total of 85. We then fielded and bowled tightly to restrict Bugbrooke to 44. All the boys bowled well particularly Jack Malton who bowled 2 overs with 2 wickets for 7 runs. A good start to the season well done everyone.

Mr Marriott

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 15th May - Latvia
Tuesday 16th May - Gambia
Wednesday 17th May - China
Thursday 18th May - Tonga
Friday 19th May – Puerto Rico

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Open Farm Sunday – 11th June
Open Farm Sunday is an event designed to help educate both adults and children about farming and the countryside. Hosted by the Bromborough Estate in conjunction with Christopher Reeves Lower School Governing Body, Glebe Farm, Podington, Wellingborough, Northants, NN29 7HP will be open on 11th June 2017 11am to 4pm. Adults £5 and Children (Under 2s free) £4. Click here for more information.
 

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

In Chapel yesterday, as is usual practice, Mrs Owen asked a Year 7 pupil to help her dismiss the School. The pupil instantly shook her head to decline and then in a split second, as something began to dawn on her, she smiled, then beamed and stood up and began to lead. A small example but a powerful one nonetheless.

It is crucial that we provide our pupils with multiple opportunities to lead throughout their life at School. Student leadership is arguably one of the most beneficial activities a child can perform while in school. Though there are no marks and points to earn, the experience gained from a leadership role will be valuable for a lifetime.

When I asked the pupils today what the characteristics of a good leader were, they replied:

"being a good role model, doing the right thing, being trustworthy and dependable, being flexible and creative, being prepared to take action, being humble and fair."

These are all true and their insight impressed me.

Today, we spoke to our Year 7 pupils about their leadership of Year 8 and the important part each of them will play as role models to the rest of the Prep School. The Head Boy and Head Girl, George and Maria as well as Club Captains, Ella Hilton and Tom Kenney gave them an insight into their roles and their thoughts on their leadership journey. It was a special assembly as our Years 7s began to suddenly sit up taller and begin to shyly smile. A special moment.

The selection process and criteria for the positions of responsibility was outlined to Year 7s - click here to view. The pupils selected for these responsibilities will be announced during our Prize Giving assembly on Friday 30th June. There are many, many opportunities for all of Year 7 to lead and I look forward to working with them all next academic year.

Nearly New Shop – Uniform Donations
The Nearly New Shop would be very grateful for donations of school uniform, in particular sports items such as cricket tops. All items can be left in the Prep Office – they must be clean and in good condition otherwise they will be donated to charity. You will receive 50% of the sale proceeds in due course.

WPSA Family Fun Evening
As announced last week, the annual WPSA Family Fun Evening will take place on Friday 16th June from 4.15pm-8.00pm. There will be Twenty/20 cricket matches taking place, free inflatables for all the children as well as a tuck shop, cash bar, hog roast and hot dogs. We would love to see as many children, siblings and parents there as possible for this lovely, fun event. The WPSA would be very grateful for parent volunteers to help supervise some of the activities either for ½ hour or 1 hour slots. If you are available and would like to offer your assistance please email wpsa@wellingboroughschool.org. We look forward to seeing you there.

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week I have enjoyed sampling different areas of the curriculum in all year groups.  Our exams are underway and pupils have been using our current Habit of Mind 'Applying Past Knowledge' in their efforts to do their very best in these assessments.  I was delighted to return to my office one morning this week to see Year 4 pupils using flexible learning spaces in their work, stretched out on the corridor floor, producing lovely pieces of creative writing. I have been impressed with the level of discussion and interest that Year 5 have shown in our Life Skills sessions about the General Election. They have asked insightful questions and have begun to understand the huge machine of pre-election campaigning. Year 6 pupils were fortunate to find a gap in the rain yesterday to go across the road to the graveyard for inspiration with their descriptive writing. They have put that initial work to good use this morning, in their English writing exam.

As mentioned by Mrs Knox, the Year 7 pupils had an assembly where they looked ahead to their time in Year 8. They were encouraged to make the most of their final year in the Prep School and to remember that they will be the academic role models for the younger pupils.  It will be an opportunity to hone those Habit of Mind skills and develop further as independent learners; all skills that will stand them in good stead for Senior School the year after. Finally, after Year 8 pupils performing their persuasive speeches last Friday, it was super to listen to Ria Loibl repeat her winning speech for the whole school in assembly on Monday morning. As we know, it is no easy task to speak in front of a room of 300 of your peers!

Here is a sample of some of the highlights of the Prep School's curriculum from this week including reports from Mrs Drye and Mrs McDougall:

Persuasive Speakers Pack a Powerful Punch
Our Year 8 pupils were fortunate enough to have an expert judge for the annual Gatrad Persuasive Speaking Competition: Margery Jackson LGSM. A graduate teacher of Speech and Drama, from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she judges English speaking competitions of various types across the world: Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Paris, Philadelphia, Geneva and Brussels. She also acts and directs; “42nd Street” and “The Producers” being recent productions. Moreover, she has tutored business executives in Effective Communication and Presentation Skills. Agreeing to squeeze our competition in amongst drama festivals she is also judging was extremely kind of her, and the pupils’ benefitted greatly from her poise, advice and professional judgment.

After having taught them all great examples of rhetorical speeches through the ages, from Shakepeare’s Henry V to Chief Seattle, from Martin Luther King to Morpheus’s rousing of Zion (from ‘The Matrix’), it is always fascinating to listen to the wide range of topics which the pupils then choose to write about. What are their concerns? Which of them are prospective politicians or revolutionaries?

This year, several tried to persuade their peers to take up a musical instrument for their health. Lottie Heaver promoted the use of robots within the NHS to alleviate the crisis in care; Jonny Rimmer spoke passionately for “Telling it as it is,” an appeal for common sense when applying political correctness. Pippa Chadwick wishes the School to “Ban Thursday Chapel”, presenting her argument with logic and a dollop of humour. Tom Kenney was also on a health drive, urging us to take up cycling. Harry Pitts spoke movingly on the subject of male suicide, advising boys to communicate their troubles before it is too late and others to be attentive listeners.

Super independent research lead to selective facts being used brilliantly; these were used within a clear structure, guiding their audience expertly and sweeping us along with them. Mrs Jackson had great praise for the English Department’s Success Criteria, which tell the pupils everything they need to create a successful persuasive speech. Millie Webb certainly persuaded me to stop using some products I have been using for years, with her masterful diatribe against laboratory testing on animals.

However, our winner was outstanding. Ria Loibl owned the stage, delivering, with dry wit and delightful enunciation, a speech sparkling with fascinating facts about the eccentric foibles of famous composers. Having grabbed everyone’s attention with examples of Mozart’s scatological humour, she persuaded us to listen to classical music with a new respect and interest, because truly “Classical Composers Rock”.  

Year 6 Find Inspiration in the Graveyard
“Where are we going?” asked an excited pupil. No one expected the answer: “The graveyard!” Of course, they were intrigued and thrilled. What better way to help them observe their surroundings?

These days, so many children do not know the names of British trees or flowers and are not taught to really use their senses when they do go for a stroll. When preparing a creative writing task on describing a place, the English Department encourages them to use the Habit of Mind “Gathering Data Through All Senses.” Great descriptive writing entails the ability to create an authentic place for readers to inhabit, inviting them in to experience the author’s world. So often during the trip, I heard a pupil say, “I’ve got one of those in my garden.” But they did not know what “it” was: a yew, a lilac bush, a rowan tree, a monkey puzzle or a lime tree? Even a buttercup and a dandelion clock caused puzzled frowns!

It was a lovely lesson: trying to choose a good adverb with which to describe how ivy was winding up a cross, listening to blackbirds, spotting the magpie, mourning over an angel’s broken wings, reading moving inscriptions or spotting a Canadian officer’s carved maple leaf on his 1915 grave. This is the way to learn.

Year 4
Written by Milly Thomson and William Church 4CM
This term we have been learning about organisms and their habitats. We have collected snails and kept them in a damp container in the classroom with cucumber and leaves to eat. Snails like wet dark places but they do not live for long as humans and birds like to eat them! Snails have a pair of feelers and eyes that stick out of their head. On Friday we held the 4CM Snail Olympics! Theodore the blue snail won and sadly Turbo did not live up to his name and came last.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Party Invitations
It has come to our attention that some pupils are becoming upset when children are bringing in birthday party invitations and publicly handing them out to a select number of pupils in their year group. Whilst we do not want to stop this happening as there is obvious excitement when a child is able to invite their closest friends to their party, we would just ask that parents are mindful of the upset this can sometimes cause to others.  Of course we are aware that parents cannot invite an unlimited number of children to parties, but one suggestion is that perhaps the invitations could be posted to their friends or instead given discreetly during a break or lunchtime. Thank you for your understanding.

Year 8 Gala Dinner
Written by Charlotte Holmes
On Friday 12th May, Year 8 prepared a Gala Dinner for their parents. For the past few weeks, Year 8 have been having cookery masterclasses, so the school chefs (Gavin and Paul) could pick who would be chefs on the day. At 3pm all the chefs went to the dining hall to start preparing food for the night and the sommeliers, waiters and waitresses went to the dining hall at 4.10pm. We all met Darren, the organizer of the Gala Dinner. He went through the order of the night and what our duties were as the sommeliers, waiters and the waitresses. We also got our aprons; sommeliers were wearing white, waiters and waitresses were wearing red and the chefs were wearing navy and white.

First job was the sommeliers preparing the flowers for the centrepieces. Meanwhile, whilst that was happening, the waiters and waitresses were shown how to lay the tables correctly, as in a restaurant. We were setting out the cutlery in the correct order as well as the glasses and plates. After that, we started to prepare the finishing touch. Darren showed us two different types of napkin folds; there was ‘The Fan’ or the ‘Sydney Opera House’. We all went for The Fan. Mrs Knox wasn’t pleased. We now all deserved a break, and thoroughly enjoyed sausage, beans and chips. Head waiter was Jamie Dunn, head Chef was Tom Cawthorn and Head Sommelier was Nicole Mukhtar.

At 7pm the parents arrived. With the piano being played in the background, the night was going to be a huge success. The sommeliers ordered and served the wine. The waiters and waitresses took the orders for the starter and main. Whilst parents were enjoying the superb meal, the sommeliers continued to fill up the glasses. The desserts went down very quickly.

At the end of the evening, Year 8 received the recipes from the cookery classes and a certificate. The evening was amazing and one to be remembered with the greatest of memories, for Year 8 and their parents.

Charity Skipathon
On Tuesday we held our skipathon to raise money for our charity the British Heart Foundation. During lunchtime the pupils skipped as many skips as possible in 1 minute. There were many children who smashed their goal of skips per minute. Everyone had a great time and there was talk all afternoon about the event. Many thanks to all of the pupils for taking part and to everyone for the sponsorship. Please could the sponsorship be handed in to Mrs Ferguson as soon as possible.

Please click here for this week’s healthy recipe for a lamb, spinach and potato curry.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Woodwind and Brass Recital
Our next recital will be on Monday 12th June at 4.30pm in the Recital Room and will feature woodwind and brass players from Prep and Senior Schools. Any pupil taking lessons outside School on a woodwind or brass instrument who would like to take part should see Mr Leutfeld by Friday 25th May. Pupils taking lessons at School will be nominated by their instrumental teacher.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 22nd May 2017
Monday 22nd May
Boys' Tennis
U13/12 v Bishop Stopford – Home – 4.10pm start
Tuesday 23rd May
Boys' Cricket
1st XI v Bedford Prep – Home – 4.15pm start (National Cup match)
Wednesday 24th May
Boys' Cricket
1st, 2nd, Colts C, D & E v Spratton Hall – Home – 2.30 start
3rd, 4th, Colts A & B v Spratton Hall – Away – 2.30 start
Girls' Cricket
U13/12A, B & C v Leicester Grammar – Away – 4.00pm start
Thursday 25th May
Athletics
U10-U13 Spratton Hall Athletics event – Away – 4.30 start

Athletics Achievement
Year 7 pupil Etienne Maughan had a very busy and productive Northamptonshire Athletics County Championship last weekend. She won Gold medals in the 100m, 200m and Hurdle events. Etienne also competed in the long jump where she picked up a silver medal too. Etienne is currently in the top five in the country for all of these events and has recently broken a Bedford and County record for 150m. This is a fantastic achievement and the School wishes her the very best for the rest of the season.

Achievements
Lili Howe (Y6) was awarded first place in both solo and duet sections at the Classical Greek Dance Finals. She was also successful at the Janet Cram Modern Awards heats and has a place in the finals.

Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 22nd May - Malta
Tuesday 23rd May - Kenya
Wednesday 24th May - India
Thursday 25th May - Cook Islands
Friday 26th May - Greenland

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Tennis Summer Camp
17-21 July (Years 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9)
21-25 August (Ages 6-16)
For more information and how to book click here.

Year 4 Hilltop – Lost Property
Mrs Stevens has a number of items left over from the Hilltop residential that have not been claimed: a grey zip up hooded top, a blue zip up hooded top and a lime green water bottle. Please email ak@wellingboroughschool.org to reclaim.

Information to parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. 

We have reached the end of another busy half term with time now to relax and unwind. For our year 7 and 8 pupils, opportunity for some final consolidation of learning but, also, a time to spend doing things they enjoy. Over half term, our Equestrian team will have the opportunity to ride for the School in our own event. Supporters are most welcome to attend which will be held at the College Equestrian Centre in Keysoe.

When we return to school, we will be straight into action with a number of events:

1. Year 4 Windows into Learning with a focus on Science – 7th June
2. WPSA meeting and AGM – 7th June at 8pm. All welcome - please do join us
3. Family Fun Evening – 16th June at 4.15pm - 8pm
4. Non-uniform day (wear something red) raising money for our chosen Charity - the British Heart Foundation – 16th June

Additionally, we are looking forward to hosting all of the new pupils who are joining us in September for their Orientation Days and some great activities with Year 3 as they prepare their exciting transition to Year 4.

Have a super break.

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week I enjoyed a learning walk around the School with Mrs Barnhurst, Senior School Deputy Head Curriculum, where we looked at the similarities and differences between Year 8 and 9 in terms of organisation, equipment, movement between lessons and use of technology. It was really interesting to see how things work in the two year groups and it will help us with ensuring a smooth transition to the Senior School in September for our current Year 8 pupils. In addition, we have been making the most of the summer weather and a number of classes moved their lessons outside (in the shade!).  My Year 5 and 6 Life Skills pupils enjoyed the opportunity to carry out their studies in the fresh air and their behaviour and attitude to learning was excellent.  Mr Hargreaves also took the opportunity to perform some open air theatre with his Drama classes.

Here is a sample of some of the highlights of the Prep School's curriculum from this week including reports from Miss Simmons and Mrs Drye:

Year 4 Windows in to Learning – Science
On Wednesday 7th June 2.30pm - 4.05pm, there will be an opportunity to partner your child in a variety of short Science investigations and to find out about the different scientific skills we have been developing this year and how Progress Grids can inform learning and expectations. Details of how to book have been sent by Clarion.

‘This is the Place’
The recent tragedy in Manchester touched all our hearts. Mrs Drye listened to the whole of Tony Walsh’s poem, ‘This is the Place’ on YouTube and transcribed it for Years 5-8, who then studied it (or will be studying it!) in English lessons, where they discussed the issues involved in the content and the surrounding event, including British values.

Identifying a text’s historical and cultural context and understanding how it influences authors’ work is a crucial skill. Recognising the power of performance poetry in a nation’s or community’s time of need is also important. The pupils all study poetry this term and will be writing their own poems for the annual competition.  Thinking about possible themes, topical ideas and finding sources for inspiration is one area to focus on: often it is a form of catharsis; maybe they wish to protest about something; perhaps they wish to recall a lovely moment or place in their lives. There are a million different things to write about and ways of expressing those ideas.

How to capture life or ideas in words is also a theme being looked at by Year 8 pupils who are studying poems concerned with the creative process, from Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 17’, poetry by Larking and Ted Hughes, to Sujata Bhatt’s ‘The Writer’.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Tips to help your child understand scary events
After events such as the Manchester Arena attack, it can be hard for children to understand what is happening in the world – and why. Click here to read an article published in First News, the weekly newspaper for children ‘Tips to help you understand scary events’.

Bushcraft
During the last week of the term, Year 8 are on a residential trip in Oxford with 'The Bushcraft Company.' Parents attended a presentation on Tuesday evening which explained what their children will experience during this adventure. The activities they will be taking part in are both exciting and educational. Whether they are cooking river trout over an open fire, building shelters to sleep in, making their own fires, or learning how to navigate through dense woodland, the outdoor adventures are as real as you can get and an experience, they will never forget. We are all looking forward to the trip.

Bears Club Challenge
During this week’s Club meetings, Bears challenge was to build the tallest tower with marshmallows and spaghetti.

Summer Uniform
Reminder that pupils should all be wearing summer uniform when we return from the half term break, i.e. short sleeved white shirts, white ankle socks for girls. On very hot days’ pupils will be permitted to remove their blazer as directed by teaching staff. Pupils must wear blazers to assembly and Chapel.

Healthy Recipe
Please click here for this week’s healthy recipe for frozen fruit skewers with chocolate drizzle.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

WPSA AGM
The WPSA AGM will be held on Wednesday, 7th June, at 8pm in the School Library. The WPSA needs new members (Mums and Dads!) so please come along to the meeting. Meetings are usually held once per school term and last for an hour. The next event being organised is the Christmas Disco, a highlight for the children, and helpers will be welcome.

Mrs Redfern
Chair

Music Achievements
Well done to Krishna Lakkappa (6HC) who took part in the Northampton Festival of the Performing Arts Cello and Double Bass solo competition and was given a 'highly commended' award. He also played in the County Junior Orchestra at the Spinney Hill Theatre in Northampton.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view week commencing 5th June timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 5th June 2017
Wednesday 7th June
Boys' Cricket
1st, 2nd, 3rd XI v Swanbourne House – Away – 2.30 start
4th, Colts A, B & C v Swanbourne House – Away – 2.30 start
Girls' Cricket
U13/12A, B & C v Swanbourne House – Away – 2.30 start
Fillies A & B v Swanbourne House – Home – 2.30 start
Thursday 8th June
Cricket
U9A & B v Kimbolton – Home – 2.30 start
Rounders
U9A v Kimbolton – Home – 2.30 start
Friday 9th June
Boys' Cricket
1st XI v Thomas’s Clapham (touring team) – Home – 4.15 start
Athletics
U10 – U13 Athletics Championship at Bedford International Stadium – 10am start

Hockey Achievement
Congratulations to Will Middleton (Y7) and Orla Hunt (Y8) on their selection in to the East Midlands U13 Hockey squad. We wish them the very best of luck for their up and coming tournament.

Loughborough University Student Research
We have a Loughborough University student coming in to school after half term to speak to some of our pupils regarding some research for her dissertation which is based on understanding teenage girl’s engagement with physical activity in a mixed gendered space. In particular, Lydia will be looking at femininity and how they feel in the environment around them when there are boys present.

We would like to ask around half a dozen Year 7 & 8 girls who are currently playing cricket in a mixed sex environment to speak to Lydia to help her with her research. We will be sending out a parental consent form to some of the pupils selected and ask that if you are supportive of your daughter taking part in this research you sign and return the form to Mr Irvine at your earliest convenience.

This is due to take place during games lessons on Monday 5th June and Wednesday 7th June. Monday will involve the pupils speaking directly to Lydia and Wednesday will just be observations.

Achievements
Charley Knight (Y7) performed at the Northampton Drama Festival, entering 3 classes and gaining 2 first places and a 3rd place. She also won the best overall performance across three different sections for her solo acting.

OWs Cricket
O.W's batted first and scored 286 with the loss of just three wickets. Harrison Stoute (10 not out) and Rushabh put on 20 for the first wicket then Noah Bryant (8) and Angus McDougall added 27 in their 4 overs. Christian Evans scored an excellent unbeaten 21 in his partnership of 30 runs with Kevin Phillipose and Matthew Dobson and Jack Malton added an excellent 21 for the last partnership. The OW's bowling attack was far too strong for W. Haddon and Guilsborough and we restricted them to 205. Harrison Stoute was the outstanding bowler with 3 wickets for 1 run in 2 overs.

Mr Marriott

Spratton Athletics-2017
The athletics team competed in the final ‘Team’ event of the season yesterday at Spratton Hall, in a competition that continues to grow in strength and popularity. On what was a glorious evening of athletics the team as a whole performed extremely well, with the boys’ team finishing in 2nd place and the girls’ team finishing in 3rd place.

The first placings went to:

1. Year 5: Jack Finn-Kelcey (Long Jump), Charlie Sales (200m and Ball Throw), Kiran Thakrar (Ball Throw).
2. Year 6: Lucas Brazier (800m), Stella Grayson (Shot)
3. Year 7: Will Middleton (800m), Polly Ross (Shot), Ben Sales, Will Middleton, Sam Cooke and Ethan Brazier (Boys Relay)
4. Year 8: Millie Webb (300m) and Pippa Chadwick (High Jump)

The performances of the day go to:

1. Polly Ross for smashing the Shot Putt competition by nearly a whole metre, and to Tom Kenney, Lawrence Leslie-Carter and Orla Hunt for their efforts during a hot and tiring 1500m.

Thank you and well done to all our athletes and parents, who enjoyed the scorching weather, and who tolerated another very late finish.

Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 5th June - Serbia
Tuesday 6th June - Libya
Wednesday 7th June - Indonesia
Thursday 8th June - Mexico
Friday 9th June - Barbados

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Summer Drama Activities
A week of drama workshops in central Wellingborough, covering all drama skills, plus fun for ages 8 – 14. Week beginning 24th July to 29th July and 31st July to 5th August. 9am – 3pm, Monday to Friday, plus a Saturday evening performance. For more information and how to book click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

It has been good to get back into the swing of things after the break. The pupils have settled really quickly into the rhythms of school life again and exams and classes resumed smoothly. As the pupils get their exam marks back, it is a good time to reflect on the learning and set goals for the remainder of the term. I was saddened this week to read an article in the press that the majority of teenagers have cried this week because they are "stressed out" by exams. Exams are a crucial part of education but there is much we as parents and educators can do whilst pupils are still young to teach them how to approach exams positively and an understanding of how to deal with stressful situations more broadly. Additionally, how to cope with setbacks. Year 4 managed beautifully in a "stress-free" kitchen this week as they made scrumptious bread as part of their unit on Food Chains. Shortly, they will visit an organic farm to explore the wheat fields in more detail. It was also great to welcome parents to our Windows into Learning focusing on Science this week.

We are getting very excited about the Family Fun Evening next Friday and I would, in advance, like to thank the WPSA for their superb organisation of the event. It will be an evening to remember, I have no doubt. I would like to congratulate Emma Redfern on her re-election as Chair of the WPSA this week and thank all of the committee members for their tireless support of the School.

A quick reminder that next Friday, all of the pupils are invited to wear an item of red clothing as we raise money for our chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation. 

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week has been full of active learning for a number of our pupils. The Year 4 children have enjoyed bread making as part of their Geography topic on arable farming and their parents enjoyed the opportunity to attend this term's Science Windows into Learning where they carried out exciting practical work in the lab. Our Year 6 pupils were finally able to start the long anticipated Fiver Challenge and they now have the month of June in which to make as much profit as possible from their initial £5. 50% of all the profit made will be going to charities of the pupils' choice. Finally, I have been encouraging all Prep School pupils to take part in '30 Days Wild', an initiative promoted by the Wildlife Trusts.  This encourages children to carry out one Act of Wildness every day during June. This could be listening to bird song, going on a nature walk, splashing in muddy puddles or watching the sunset. I am very keen to hear from the pupils about the things they have been doing and I have put a chart up outside my office for them to see a record of what activity I have done each day. Hopefully this will help them to spend more time in the fresh air and less time in front of a screen as our summer weather finally arrives!  

Breadmaking in Year 4
Year 4 are currently studying a food and farming module in Geography and as such have been looking at the 'Graintrain'. This involves an in depth look at the farming of wheat in the U.K. starting with the sowing of the seeds and following it right through the milling process with the eventual production of flour. This week we were lucky enough to join Elaine and her team in the kitchen to find out a little more about turning this flour into bread. The children all had the opportunity to knead their dough and plait it into a roll which they were able to eat with their lunch. The children had a fabulous time and all enjoyed the fruits of their labour. A big thank you to Elaine and apologies to parents for all the clothes covered in flour!

Inspiration: where do ideas come from?
After the exams, everyone is in a creative frenzy in English classes, writing poems for the annual Poetry Competition and the chance of winning the Junior or Senior Poetry Prizes. This week, 6En2 were brainstorming ideas inspired by their chosen images (famous paintings or sculpture, illustrations from children’s books, great photographs or those they found themselves on the internet of places or creatures they love). It’s incredible how many words gush from their brains onto paper and where they end up may be nowhere near where they began! Next, they will be working on creating good lines, deciding whether to rhyme or not, whether to have regular rhythm or free verse, which structural aspects they might use to suit their themes and pulling together good figurative language and imagery to interest the reader. What fun it all is.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Nearly New Shop – Uniform Donations
The Nearly New Shop would be very grateful for donations of all school uniform, in particular sports items. All items can be left in the Main Reception – they must be clean and in good condition otherwise they will be donated to charity. You will receive 50% of the sale proceeds in due course.

Supporting children worried about terrorism
To view an article from NSPCC on how to support children worried about terrorism please click here. 

New Main Reception
Thank you to all parents and pupils who have adapted so well to our new systems in the Prep School since the New Main Reception building has been in action from the start of this week.  I would like to commend the pupils, in particular, who have shown great independence and maturity in the use of the new Prep Office space and have kept to the new opening times without fuss! We are hopeful that the new Main Reception will improve the overall security of our site, which of course is one of our main priorities in terms of safeguarding our pupils.

Charity Skipathon
Many thanks to all of the pupils for taking part in the skipathon last term and to everyone for sponsoring the pupils. Please could the sponsorship be handed in to Mrs Ferguson by Wednesday, 14th June.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Song to learn for Prize Giving
I would like all Prep School pupils to learn 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, as they will be singing it at Prize Giving on 30th June. I will be handing out lyrics sheets in class over the next few days.

Woodwind and Brass Recital
Our next recital, on Monday 12th June, will feature woodwind and brass players from Prep and Senior Schools. The recital starts at 4.30pm in the Recital Room, and refreshments will be served from 4.10pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

No Extra-Curricular Activities – Friday 16th June
As you are aware the WPSA are holding their annual WPSA Family Fun Evening on Friday, 16th June from 4.30pm, therefore, all extra-curricular activities will be cancelled. We very much look forward to seeing you at this fun event. Details have been sent by clarion. Late Stay will still be available as usual.

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 12th June 2017
Monday 12th June  
LTA Boys Tennis
U13/12 WPS A v WPS B – Home – 4.10pm start
LTA Girls Tennis
U13/12 WPS A v WPS B – Home – 4.10pm start
Tuesday 13th June
Athletics
Year 4 & 5 Athletics at Cambridge University Stadium – Away – 1pm start
Wednesday 14th June
Boys Cricket
1st, 3rd, Colts A & C v Bedford Prep – Home – 2.30 start
2nd, 4th, Colts B & D v Bedford Prep – Away – 2.30 start
Girls Cricket
Fillies A & B v IAPS Tournament at St Faith’s – Away – 2pm start
Fillies C, D & E v NHS – Away – 2.30 start
Thursday 15th June
Boys Cricket
U9A & B v Bedford Prep – Away – 4.15 start
U9C v QHS – Away – 3pm start
Friday 16th June
Boys Cricket
1st XI v Bedford Prep Twenty/20 match – Home – 5pm start
Girls Cricket
U13A v opposition TBC – Home – 4.30pm start

On Thursday 15th June our U9A cricket team will be playing hardball cricket against Bedford Prep School. Please can we ask that all pupils in the 'A' team who have hard ball equipment (helmet, pads, gloves etc) bring this in to school with them on Tuesday 13th for after school practice and then again on Thursday for the match. Any pupils who do not have the hardball kit please do not worry there is no need to go out and buy any items. We are more than welcome for the 'B' team players to bring theirs in to for practice, however, I must confirm the 'B' match on Thursday will be softball.

Pupil Achievements
Millie Webb (Y8) competed in the Heart of England Athletics Meeting on Saturday in 300m and achieved a PB of 46.7 – 3 seconds off her previous PB set at Spratton the week before.
Isabelle Thomas (Y7) and Duke competed in the 80cm and 90cm Just for Schools’ classes at the college of West Anglia coming 2nd in both. On Saturday they again entered the 80cm and 90cm Just for Schools’ classes but this time at Weston Lawns where they won both of their classes. These results should hopefully secure a place in both the 80cm and 90cm finals at the Just for Schools’ Championships in August.
Lili Howe (Y6) recently took part in The All England Dance Regional Finals and was awarded 8 medals for solos and duets in ballet, modern, national and Greek, and achieved 16 places overall through to the Finals held in July.

Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 12th June - Ukraine
Tuesday 13th June - Mali
Wednesday 14th June - Iran
Thursday 15th June - Colombia
Friday 16th June - Bahamas

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Summer Drama Activities
A week of drama workshops in central Wellingborough, covering all drama skills, plus fun for ages 8 – 14. Week beginning 24th July to 29th July and 31st July to 5th August. 9am – 3pm, Monday to Friday, plus a Saturday evening performance. For more information click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. 

This evening is our Family Fun event where plenty of entertainment has been organised by the WPSA. As well as a Hog Roast, tuck shop, tea, cake and bouncy castles, you will have the opportunity to see our cricket teams in action. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the WPSA, Emma Redfern and her team, for their outstanding organisation of the event. Also, to the team of volunteers who will work hard all evening to ensure the event is a success.

We were delighted to welcome the Governors to our newly renovated library this week. Year 4 pupils enjoyed a game of chess with our Chairman, Dr Cox.  Bright colours, soft-furnishings and an amphitheatre featuring block-style seating were all added recently to the new library to make a more immersive and engaging space for pupils.

Our non-uniform day has been a winner with the pupils raising money for the very important work of the British Heart Foundation. Even the staff joined in with a wonderful array of interesting outfits!

Our music recital this week featured superb instrumentalists from the Prep and Senior Schools and we were entertained to a wonderful array of music and musicians. What a relaxing hour of musical delight!

A huge congratulations to our pupils who have qualified for the National Athletics Finals this year.  Etienne Maughan came first in the 100m and 200m. Polly Ross qualified in the Shot Putt and Lucas Brazier came second in the 800 metres. We have high hopes for all of these pupils in the next round, a fantastic achievement, well done!

This week, our prize winners received acknowledgement that they would be recipients of an award at our Prize Giving ceremony on the 30th June. For those pupils, sincerest congratulations for your hard work and effort this year.  As I told the pupils during my assembly address on Monday, everyone has a spark deep inside them: a talent, an interest, a passion, an enthusiasm. That spark gives incredible joy, motivation and direction. Some years, our spark shines really brightly, like a bright star which everyone can see and enjoy.  For others, we may just have a little candle burning inside us and this spark may be quite small. Next year, with nourishment, it will become a bright spark. Like the seasons, the spark inside us changes from bright to not so bright to bright again. Even for adults, some years we are full of vibrancy and the next we are quiet and subdued. Again that is part of the journey of life. I look forward to seeing you at this special ceremony.

Claire Petrie leaves us today as she commences her maternity leave. We send our very best and warmest wishes and look forward to welcoming baby Petrie to school one day soon!

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week, along with Ms Machin and Miss Allan, I visited Hall Meadow Primary School in Kettering where we talked to the Headteacher about the enquiry-based learning approach which they use with their pupils. It was really interesting to talk about curriculum matters and see how things are done in another school.  One of their members of staff also gave a presentation on her recent five day visit to Sweden where she spent time in a Forest School setting which is an integral part of their education system.  Back at Wellingborough, I look forward to discussing these methods of learning with our staff as part of our continual review of the way in which we teach our pupils.  

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Year 8 Activities Week Programme
This morning all Year 8 pupils were spoken to by Mrs Rowley-Burns about their Leavers programme which is due to start in two weeks.  The programme is hugely varied, from wheelchair basketball, to leading an activity day for Rowan Gate School and taking part in water activities at Willen Lakes.  All Year 8 pupils were reminded about dress and timings for the final two weeks and they were very excited about the prospect of being off timetable for their final two weeks of Year 8.  If you have any questions about the Year 8 leavers programme please speak to Mrs Rowley-Burns.

Messages to Pupils
If you have a message for your child during the school day, please can you ensure you contact Main Reception before 3.00pm to allow sufficient time for this to be passed on to them. Thank you for your support.

Mrs Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Fiddle Fiesta
Our 8th annual Fiddle Fiesta will take place on Monday 26th June in the Pre-Prep Hall. On the day of the event we are going to gather together every string player from the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools, to play as a single ensemble. We will also be joined by a visiting professional string quartet. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to parents of string players. Family and friends are warmly invited to come along to the concert at 2.15pm. 

Windband Day
Our annual Windband Day will take place on Tuesday 27th June. During the school day our Prep and Senior School brass and wind ensembles will rehearse alongside a professional quintet, culminating in a massed performance at 4.30pm in Chapel. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to the parents of pupils who are involved. Family and friends are invited to come along to the final concert.

Song to learn for Prize Giving
I would like all Prep School pupils to learn 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, as they will be singing it at Prize Giving on 30th June. The pupils have lyrics sheets which have been handed out in class.

Ensemble rehearsal cancellations
Please note that there will be no Orchestra rehearsal on Thursday 29th June due to the Senior Leavers' Service. Music Tech Club will also be cancelled on Tuesday 27th June due to Windband Day.

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 19th June 2017

Monday 19th June  
LTA Boys' Tennis
U13/12 B v CCS B – Away – 3.45pm start
LTA Girls Tennis
U13/12 A v CCS – Away – 3.45pm start
Tuesday 13th June
LTA Boys’ Tennis
U13/12 A v NSB A – Home – 4.15pm start
Wednesday 14th June
Boys’ Cricket
1st, 3rd, Colts D v Winchester House – Away – 2.30 start
Colts C v Winchester House – Away at Brackley CC – 2.30 start
2nd, 4th, Colts A & B v Winchester House – Home – 2.30 start
Girls’ Cricket
Fillies A & C v Winchester House – Away – 2.30 start
Fillies B & D v Stamford Juniors – Away – 2.30 start
U13/12A & B v Winchester House – Home – 2.30 start
Thursday 15th June
Boys’ Cricket
U9A, B & C v Spratton Hall – Home – 2.30 start
Girls’ Rounders
U9A v Spratton Hall – Away – 3pm start
Saturday 17th June
Boys’ Cricket
1st & 2nd XI v Nottingham High School – Home – 10am start

Athletics
This week the athletics team have had their final competitions of the term with the Seniors at Bedford and the Juniors at Cambridge for the regional finals. Both tournaments have continued to grow in strength, with each entry requirement becoming increasingly challenging.

In both meetings our athletes performed admirably, but a few performances really stand out amongst the others. At Bedford, Polly Ross won the Year 7 Shot to qualify for the National Finals, Lucas Brazier finished second in the Year 6 800m to also qualify and Will Middleton finished third in the Year 7 800m just missing out on national qualification. At Cambridge, our junior athletes all performed extremely well. Nathan Wesley finished second in the Year 4 Hurdles, and Charlie Sales also finished second in the Year 5 200m. Grace Piercewright came third in the Year 4 Hurdles, Kiran Thakrar came third in the Year 5 Rounders Ball (setting a new school record) and Charlie Sales came third in the Year 5 Cricket Ball. There is one set of performances that tops everything and they were by Etienne Maughan, who won both the Year 7 100m and 200m, qualifying for the Nationals in both and breaking both regional records. A truly fantastic achievement.

My thanks go to all the pupils who have represented the school athletics team this term. Their efforts and enthusiasm are infinite, and myself and all members of staff fully appreciate everything you do. Thanks also to our band of tireless parent supporters, who travel the breadth of the region to cheer on and encourage all our athletes alike.

Tennis Tournament
The first Wellingborough Prep School Girls’ Singles Open Tennis Tournament was held on Thursday evening after school. 13 girls from Years 6, 7 & 8 entered. All girls played four rounds of matches in a waterfall style competition. Depending on each individual girl’s successes they were put into four different mini tournaments with the aim of making the ‘Wimbledon’ Final.

The Australian final was won by Maddie Murphy
The French open by Francesca Benham
The US open by Ella Hilton

The Wimbledon tournament finished as: 4th Annie Burgess , 3rd Iris Kirk, the runner up was Millie Webb and this year’s tennis champion was Lottie Heaver.

Congratulations to all the girls who participated. Next Thursday there are 26 boys entered into the Boys’ Singles Tournament details are on the sports noticeboard.

Sports Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Year 7 Ardèche Meeting
Ms Machin is looking forward to seeing parents and pupils regarding this summer's trip to the Ardèche on Tuesday 20th June at 1630 in the Prep School Hall. Please check you have completed and returned relevant forms and documentation before the deadline.

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 19th June - Scotland
Tuesday 20th June - Mozambique
Wednesday 21st June - Israel
Thursday 22nd June - Venezuela
Friday 23rd June - Honduras

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Summer Drama Activities
A week of drama workshops in central Wellingborough, covering all drama skills, plus fun for ages 8 – 14. Week beginning 24th July to 29th July and 31st July to 5th August. 9am – 3pm, Monday to Friday, plus a Saturday evening performance. To book a place click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

This week saw the launch of our very own story writing competition, which saw pupils write their own book in just one day.

The ‘Write a Book in a Day’ competition aims to bring school children together to create their own book. The competition, organised by us, was opened to local school children, with teams of up to 10 pupils from 10 local schools taking part in the contest.

The competition gives teams just 10 hours to plan, write, illustrate and bind a book. Each team is given unique story features and words that they must include in their project, with the aim of encouraging children to think creatively. The winning team will be named next month, with all entries being printed and donated to the Children's Ward at Northampton General Hospital.

Our pupils compiled their entry this Tuesday with a team of Year 5 and 6 pupils and a team of Year 7 and 8 pupils each creating a book which they titled:  Cloudy Eyes and The Plan! The day saw the library become the pupils’ own publishing company, with teams working together to brainstorm ideas, allocate roles and structure their story.  WABIAD is unique in that it allows children to come together and produce something from their own hard work and imagination. The competition provided the perfect platform for them to unleash their creativity and as one pupil commented at the end of the day: "that was the best day of the whole year!".  If you would like to read the books, they can be borrowed from the school library.

I am looking forward to celebrating the hard work of all of our pupils next Friday at the special Prize Giving Ceremony. We hope that many of you will be able to join us at the celebration where we also thank our Year 8 pupils and announce the new Club Captains and Head Boy and Head Girl for the next academic year. The ceremony will commence at 10am in the marquee on the School Grounds. As you are aware, we have limited parking available on site, therefore we respectfully request that you park in one of the nearby public car parks for this occasion. Pupils will go back to class following the ceremony.

Huge thanks to the WPSA for the fantastic Family Fun Evening last week. It certainly was a truly memorable evening and I would like to acknowledge the army of volunteers who made it so successful. A very early "hold the date" for the next WPSA event which will be a "Ferret Race" evening on Friday, 13th October. This will be a first for the Prep School and will be a night to remember, I'm sure!

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week I have been really pleased to see a number of our pupils using their initiative to branch out on their own. Firstly, a couple of our Year 6 pupils made good progress with their Fiver Challenge companies. Matthew Dobson sought permission from the Pre Prep to be a sole seller on Monday and his stall looked wonderful in the sunshine.  He had tailored his bookmark and bag tag product to his market and made some good sales. On Tuesday, Thomas Ross seized the opportunity to speak to Year 7 parents at the Ardèche presentation to promote the sale of his sleeping bags liners. He presented confidently in front of a large audience and promoted the benefits of one of his handmade products for the summer nights in France. He too received a good number of orders for his product.

I have been pleased to hear about pupils taking part enthusiastically in the 30 Days Wild challenge. Milly Thomson in Year 4 made her own rose perfume and Findlay Hammett got up close with a hermit crab. There is one more week of the challenge left, I would love to hear of more things that pupils have been doing in the great outdoors!

Finally, all our Year 6 pupils are preparing to sell their products at the Enterprise break on Tuesday 27th June. I wish them all luck and would like to remind pupils in all other year groups to bring in money to spend at the stalls in the playground at morning break.

Year 4 Trip to Glebe Farm
On Tuesday, 20th June, Year 4 visited Glebe organic farm in Woodford. Despite the searing temperature, students had a great experience and learnt lots about UK farming. They were able to discover what happens on an organic farm and also learnt about some of the wildlife and habitats found on these farms. They learnt about the importance of hedgerows, and carried out a scavenger hunt of which the most interesting find was a spider’s nest! The children also learnt about soil, through some very messy hands on investigating! We continued our work on wheat farming in the UK, and the children were able to mill their own flour and explore a range of products which this is used in.  The day finished with the ever popular tractor ride and a look at some of the Roman and WWII artefacts which have been uncovered on the farm. Many thanks to Wendy at Glebe Farm and to the Wellingborough staff that attended and ensured the trip was a success.

Year 7 & Art Artist Workshop
On Thursday, 22nd June, we welcomed sculpture and artist Michelle Reader to work with a selection of Year 7 and 8 promising art pupils and scholars. Michelle works with recycled materials to create the most amazing sculptures. Most of her work is commissioned and she showed the pupils images of the sculptures she has made for the Chelsea flower show, Nottingham Council and a shopping centre to name a few. She brought in her sculpture of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which was made for the food commissary and made out of old food packaging, a wheel from a wheelie bin, old knives and forks and old cafe menus. Pupils started their own bust, made from recycled materials they had collected, and will continue to work on them until the end of term. 

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

New for September
Lessons in Music Production and Contemporary Guitar
We are excited to be able to offer individual lessons in two new areas from September:

1. Music Technology - an introduction to the range of techniques and skills essential to modern music recording and composing. A possible first step to becoming a recording engineer or music producer.
2. Contemporary Guitar - electric, acoustic and bass guitar lessons with a focus on current pop repertoire.

We expect these lessons to be popular and there will be limited availability. You can enrol before the summer holiday by contacting Liz Burleigh on eab@wellingboroughschool.org.

Fiddle Fiesta
Our 8th annual Fiddle Fiesta will take place on Monday 26th June in the Pre-Prep Hall. On the day of the event we are going to gather together every string player from the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools, to play as a single ensemble. We will also be joined by a visiting professional string quartet. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to parents of string players. Family and friends are warmly invited to come along to the concert at 2.15pm. 

Windband Day
Our annual Windband Day will take place on Tuesday 27th June. During the School day our Prep and Senior School brass and wind ensembles will rehearse alongside a professional quintet, culminating in a massed performance at 4.30pm in Chapel. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to the parents of pupils who are involved. Family and friends are invited to come along to the final concert.

Song to learn for Prize Giving
I would like all Prep School pupils to learn 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, as they will be singing it at Prize Giving on 30th June. The pupils have lyrics sheets which have been handed out in class.

Ensemble Rehearsal Cancellations
Please note that there will be no Orchestra rehearsal on Thursday 29th June due to the Senior Leavers' Service. Music Tech Club will also be cancelled on Tuesday 27th June due to Windband Day.

Trinity Music Exam Results
Congratulations to the following pupils on their outstanding results from last week's Trinity music exams:

Lottie Heaver (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Lili Howe (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Rhianna Osborne (Grade 3 Flute ) - Merit
Thomas Ravest (Initial Grade Cello) - Distinction

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 26th June 2017
Wednesday 28th June
Boys' Cricket
2nd XI v Stoneygate – Home – 2.30 start
5th & 6th XI v Bedford Prep – Away – 2.30 start
Colts C & D v Stoneygate – Away – 2.30 start
Colts A & B v Stamford Juniors – Away – 2.30 start
Girls' Cricket
Fillies B v Stoneygate – Away – 2.30 start
U13/12C v Stoneygate – Home – 2.30 start
U13/12A, B & D v The Perse – Home – 2.30 start
U13/12E & F v The Perse – Away – 2.30 start

Boys' Open Tennis Tournament
On Thursday, 22nd June, 24 boys from Years 5 to 8 competed in the first Boys’ Open Singles Tennis Tournament. The standard of tennis played was extremely impressive and all boys played in good spirit and with excellent sportsmanship. Similar to the girls’ tournament last week, the boys were seeded initially and played an opening match. Depending on the results of the first two rounds all pupils then went into one of four pools. The ultimate aim was to make the Wimbledon draw.

In reverse order the results were:

The winner of the Australian open was Thomas Ross
The winner of the French open was Ethan Brazier
The winner of the US open was Harvey Williamson

The Wimbledon finalists were Harry Cadman, Jack Bates (Year 5) Alex Brunet-Huntingford, Vignesh Sudhkar, the runner up was Oliver Cadman and ... this year’s tennis champion was Henry Grayson.

Sports Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 26th June - Ireland
Tuesday 27th June - Senegal
Wednesday 28th June – South Korea
Thursday 29th June - Guatemala
Friday 30th June - India

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Fundraising for Senior School Tour
As the tour fundraising committee start to raise funds for the 2018 Canada and USA tour, the first fundraising event will take place during the Family of School Day on Saturday 8th July, with a champagne raffle. We do need your help by way of donations of bottles of champagne and these can be donated any time between now and Friday, 7th July, and should be left at the Main Reception. Sixth Form pupils will be selling raffle tickets during the day and the draws will be made between events during the Prep School Sports Day. Thank you in advance for your support.

Tour Fundraising Committee

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

This week saw the launch of our very own story writing competition, which saw pupils write their own book in just one day.

The ‘Write a Book in a Day’ competition aims to bring school children together to create their own book. The competition, organised by us, was opened to local school children, with teams of up to 10 pupils from 10 local schools taking part in the contest.

The competition gives teams just 10 hours to plan, write, illustrate and bind a book. Each team is given unique story features and words that they must include in their project, with the aim of encouraging children to think creatively. The winning team will be named next month, with all entries being printed and donated to the Children's Ward at Northampton General Hospital.

Our pupils compiled their entry this Tuesday with a team of Year 5 and 6 pupils and a team of Year 7 and 8 pupils each creating a book which they titled:  Cloudy Eyes and The Plan! The day saw the library become the pupils’ own publishing company, with teams working together to brainstorm ideas, allocate roles and structure their story.  WABIAD is unique in that it allows children to come together and produce something from their own hard work and imagination. The competition provided the perfect platform for them to unleash their creativity and as one pupil commented at the end of the day: "that was the best day of the whole year!".  If you would like to read the books, they can be borrowed from the school library.

I am looking forward to celebrating the hard work of all of our pupils next Friday at the special Prize Giving Ceremony. We hope that many of you will be able to join us at the celebration where we also thank our Year 8 pupils and announce the new Club Captains and Head Boy and Head Girl for the next academic year. The ceremony will commence at 10am in the marquee on the School Grounds. As you are aware, we have limited parking available on site, therefore we respectfully request that you park in one of the nearby public car parks for this occasion. Pupils will go back to class following the ceremony.

Huge thanks to the WPSA for the fantastic Family Fun Evening last week. It certainly was a truly memorable evening and I would like to acknowledge the army of volunteers who made it so successful. A very early "hold the date" for the next WPSA event which will be a "Ferret Race" evening on Friday, 13th October. This will be a first for the Prep School and will be a night to remember, I'm sure!

Mrs Sue Knox
Headmistress

This week I have been really pleased to see a number of our pupils using their initiative to branch out on their own. Firstly, a couple of our Year 6 pupils made good progress with their Fiver Challenge companies. Matthew Dobson sought permission from the Pre Prep to be a sole seller on Monday and his stall looked wonderful in the sunshine.  He had tailored his bookmark and bag tag product to his market and made some good sales. On Tuesday, Thomas Ross seized the opportunity to speak to Year 7 parents at the Ardèche presentation to promote the sale of his sleeping bags liners. He presented confidently in front of a large audience and promoted the benefits of one of his handmade products for the summer nights in France. He too received a good number of orders for his product.

I have been pleased to hear about pupils taking part enthusiastically in the 30 Days Wild challenge. Milly Thomson in Year 4 made her own rose perfume and Findlay Hammett got up close with a hermit crab. There is one more week of the challenge left, I would love to hear of more things that pupils have been doing in the great outdoors!

Finally, all our Year 6 pupils are preparing to sell their products at the Enterprise break on Tuesday 27th June. I wish them all luck and would like to remind pupils in all other year groups to bring in money to spend at the stalls in the playground at morning break.

Year 4 Trip to Glebe Farm
On Tuesday, 20th June, Year 4 visited Glebe organic farm in Woodford. Despite the searing temperature, students had a great experience and learnt lots about UK farming. They were able to discover what happens on an organic farm and also learnt about some of the wildlife and habitats found on these farms. They learnt about the importance of hedgerows, and carried out a scavenger hunt of which the most interesting find was a spider’s nest! The children also learnt about soil, through some very messy hands on investigating! We continued our work on wheat farming in the UK, and the children were able to mill their own flour and explore a range of products which this is used in.  The day finished with the ever popular tractor ride and a look at some of the Roman and WWII artefacts which have been uncovered on the farm. Many thanks to Wendy at Glebe Farm and to the Wellingborough staff that attended and ensured the trip was a success.

Year 7 & Art Artist Workshop
On Thursday, 22nd June, we welcomed sculpture and artist Michelle Reader to work with a selection of Year 7 and 8 promising art pupils and scholars. Michelle works with recycled materials to create the most amazing sculptures. Most of her work is commissioned and she showed the pupils images of the sculptures she has made for the Chelsea flower show, Nottingham Council and a shopping centre to name a few. She brought in her sculpture of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which was made for the food commissary and made out of old food packaging, a wheel from a wheelie bin, old knives and forks and old cafe menus. Pupils started their own bust, made from recycled materials they had collected, and will continue to work on them until the end of term. 

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

New for September 
Lessons in Music Production and Contemporary Guitar
We are excited to be able to offer individual lessons in two new areas from September:

1. Music Technology - an introduction to the range of techniques and skills essential to modern music recording and composing. A possible first step to becoming a recording engineer or music producer.
2. Contemporary Guitar - electric, acoustic and bass guitar lessons with a focus on current pop repertoire.

We expect these lessons to be popular and there will be limited availability. You can enrol before the summer holiday by contacting Liz Burleigh on eab@wellingboroughschool.org.

Fiddle Fiesta
Our 8th annual Fiddle Fiesta will take place on Monday 26th June in the Pre-Prep Hall. On the day of the event we are going to gather together every string player from the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools, to play as a single ensemble. We will also be joined by a visiting professional string quartet. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to parents of string players. Family and friends are warmly invited to come along to the concert at 2.15pm. 

Windband Day
Our annual Windband Day will take place on Tuesday 27th June. During the School day our Prep and Senior School brass and wind ensembles will rehearse alongside a professional quintet, culminating in a massed performance at 4.30pm in Chapel. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to the parents of pupils who are involved. Family and friends are invited to come along to the final concert.

Song to learn for Prize Giving
I would like all Prep School pupils to learn 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, as they will be singing it at Prize Giving on 30th June. The pupils have lyrics sheets which have been handed out in class.

Ensemble Rehearsal Cancellations
Please note that there will be no Orchestra rehearsal on Thursday 29th June due to the Senior Leavers' Service. Music Tech Club will also be cancelled on Tuesday 27th June due to Windband Day.

Trinity Music Exam Results
Congratulations to the following pupils on their outstanding results from last week's Trinity music exams:

Lottie Heaver (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Lili Howe (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Rhianna Osborne (Grade 3 Flute ) - Merit
Thomas Ravest (Initial Grade Cello) - Distinction

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 26th June 2017
Wednesday 28th June
Boys' Cricket
2nd XI v Stoneygate – Home – 2.30 start
5th & 6th XI v Bedford Prep – Away – 2.30 start
Colts C & D v Stoneygate – Away – 2.30 start
Colts A & B v Stamford Juniors – Away – 2.30 start
Girls' Cricket
Fillies B v Stoneygate – Away – 2.30 start
U13/12C v Stoneygate – Home – 2.30 start
U13/12A, B & D v The Perse – Home – 2.30 start
U13/12E & F v The Perse – Away – 2.30 start

Boys' Open Tennis Tournament
On Thursday, 22nd June, 24 boys from Years 5 to 8 competed in the first Boys’ Open Singles Tennis Tournament. The standard of tennis played was extremely impressive and all boys played in good spirit and with excellent sportsmanship. Similar to the girls’ tournament last week, the boys were seeded initially and played an opening match. Depending on the results of the first two rounds all pupils then went into one of four pools. The ultimate aim was to make the Wimbledon draw.

In reverse order the results were:

The winner of the Australian open was Thomas Ross
The winner of the French open was Ethan Brazier
The winner of the US open was Harvey Williamson

The Wimbledon finalists were Harry Cadman, Jack Bates (Year 5) Alex Brunet-Huntingford, Vignesh Sudhkar, the runner up was Oliver Cadman and ... this year’s tennis champion was Henry Grayson.

Sports Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 26th June - Ireland
Tuesday 27th June - Senegal
Wednesday 28th June – South Korea
Thursday 29th June - Guatemala
Friday 30th June - India

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Fundraising for Senior School Tour
As the tour fundraising committee start to raise funds for the 2018 Canada and USA tour, the first fundraising event will take place during the Family of School Day on Saturday 8th July, with a champagne raffle. We do need your help by way of donations of bottles of champagne and these can be donated any time between now and Friday, 7th July, and should be left at the Main Reception. Sixth Form pupils will be selling raffle tickets during the day and the draws will be made between events during the Prep School Sports Day. Thank you in advance for your support.

Tour Fundraising Committee

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.

We burst into this half term with a full week of engaging learning activities and I am so pleased that the pupils and teachers have hit the road running. Things to look out for this term are our Anti-Bullying Week when our Year 8 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors will lead a range of activities to promote kindness and awareness of bullying and what to do about it, Year 7 volunteering at the Daylight Centre, our Club dancing and cross-country competitions, many sporting festivals and fixtures and, of course, in the lead up to the end of term, the Christmas Concert and the WPSA Christmas disco. We also have parent teacher evenings for our new pupils and Year 8 - full details to follow. Also to note, all pupils will receive a report at the end of the term.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of a Learning Development Manager replacing Mrs Louise Barltrop. Mrs Sam Bell joins us in January and is a highly experienced teacher. If you would like to meet Mrs Bell, we are holding a coffee drop-in morning on Friday 2nd December from 8.30 -10.00. Another date for your diary is Thursday 1st December when we are holding a parent drop in session at 3.00-4.30 ‘Do you have a question? Come and chat to the Prep School Team’. Please come and have your questions answered by myself and my leadership team.

Finally, I was very proud of the Prep School pupils today for the respect shown and participation in our Remembrance Day Service, a significant event as we acknowledged the sacrifices made by so many.

Mrs Knox
Headmistress

Volunteers Needed - National School Rugby Qualifiers – Sunday 20th November 2016
With the National School’s Rugby Tournament approaching, just over a week away, I can now confirm that this year’s qualifiers will be for the following age groups: U11, U10, U9 & U8. We will be entering a team in all age groups apart from the U8s competition. There is no competition this year for the U12s age group and the U13s qualifiers are to take place after Christmas.

We are still looking for a few more parents who may be interested in helping in the following areas:

• Referees for the U9s and U10s age group
• Stewards for the car park during the morning of the event 09.30 till 10.45am. We will be using 3 areas for parking to include the main School car park, the Embankment Golf Club and the entrance to our field parking from Bookers.
• Pupils (Years 7 & 8) to help with collecting score cards between matches. We will provide food and drink for all pupils who are volunteering to help.

Anyone interested please email Mr Irvine on lji@wellingboroughschool.org as soon as possible to discuss further.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport & Extra-Curricular Activities

Achievements
Iris Kirk (Y7) was presented with two awards at the Northamptonshire County Cricket Awards Night, one for a clean bowled hat-trick and the other for taking 4 wickets in a match with bowling figures of 3 overs, 1 maiden, 4 wickets for 4 runs. 
Lili Howe (Y6), Molly Barnes (Y8) and Charley Knight (Y7) all were invited to perform in the Dance Proms at The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 30th October.
Harvey Boniface (Y5) has been selected to a Mascot at the Saints on Remembrance Sunday.
Libby Hawkins (Y8) has been invited to lead the violas for her County Music Group at the Royal Albert Hall on 16th November.

Habits of Mind
Thank you very much to all the pupils who entered a Persisting poster into the competition before half term – don’t forget to collect a plus! I am pleased to announce the results as follows:

• 3rd Hettie Ivory and Holly Knighton
• 2nd Libby Hawkins
• 1st Sulaiman Ali, Finn Davern and Krish Patel

The winning poster will be on display shortly.

Our new Habit of Mind for this half of term is Taking Responsible Risks.  Pupils were introduced to this habit during their club meetings this week and I am looking for poster competition entries once again. In addition, we need to choose a theme tune/song for this habit. Any pupils (or parents) who have a suggestion please let me know as soon as possible so that we can make a choice and play it in assembly each week. Email ko@wellingboroughschool.org.

Library
Mr Medhurst, our Librarian, has appointed some Junior Librarians this week. These pupils will be assisting in the Library during break times and have made an enthusiastic start. Well done to them for volunteering and I am sure they will enjoy taking on the responsibility of this role.

Touch Typing
A new activity for this half of term is the Touch Typing Club which is taking place from 12.10–12.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I would like to encourage pupils to come along to improve their typing speed and accuracy using fun games. This will be of benefit to their school work on the computer as well as being a valuable life skill. Pupils can choose to come to all three sessions if they wish to do so but there is no minimum requirement – they are welcome to attend on one or two days instead.

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

Positive Parents Programme
The next session of the wellbeing support programme for parents is ‘Strengths of highly effective Parenting’ on 15th November. Click here for more details.

Buses
All pupils were reminded during Monday’s assembly that if they catch a bus home from School they must ensure they sign out at the Library with Mrs Wiggett. Could I please ask that parents whose children take a bus reinforce this message at home.  It is very important that we have accurate registers of all children leaving the School site on a bus.

Lunch Rota
Many pupils and parents have questioned the lunch rota over the last half of term and this has also been risen at our School Council meetings.  A decision has been made to change the lunch rota so that all year groups have the opportunity to go first to lunch and it is now as fair as it possibly can be. I know that this change has been welcomed by the pupils and long may this continue.

Mrs C Petrie
Deputy Head - Pastoral 

Year 4 History Lessons – old t-shirts required
If possible, please can you provide your child with an old, large t-shirt or painting apron to wear over their school clothes during History lessons next week. The larger the t-shirt the better as it covers more clothing! The pupils will be making, and painting, Roman shields in their lessons. Thank you in advance.

Miss Kingstone
Year 4 Tutor

Year 6 Cote d’Opale Trip
On the morning of the 20th October, 55 excited pupils assembled in the hall in anticipation for an exciting French voyage! So as pupils said ‘au revoir’ to their families, off we left for the Opal Coast with a smooth journey into the Eurostar arriving on time at the centre for ‘poulet et frites’ at seven in the evening.

Friday proved to be a busy and exciting day starting with the Agincourt museum. Pupils learned about the Battle of Agincourt which was an incredible English victory in the Hundred Years' War. The battle took place on Friday, 25th October 1415, near Azincourt, in northern France. What was the date again Y6 and where was it? October 15th 1415….Agincourt…Agincourt….Agincourt!

After this we had the opportunity to learn and revise some French vocabulary at the Goats cheese farm, where we then travelled to the chocolaterie, (a highlight as always), where samples were scoffed and a lot of chocolates were bought!

We arrived in the market town of Boulogne-sur-mer to do a spot of shopping and practised some of our transactional French in the food market. There was plenty of things to taste and see including fresh patisseries bakery’s, French vegetables and flowers. After a quick shop, we walked through the town centre to explore one of Europe’s biggest aquarium Nausicaa! There were some interesting sights to see including the gigantic sea lions and dancing dolphins.

Monsieur Irvine et Richardson were determined to incorporate some cross-curricular sporting activities into the trip which included a big competitive game of football on the beach. Monsieur Coles also show cased his handstands and cartwheels on the beach! Overall, it was a hugely memorable and exciting first residential for Y6; may there be many more to come.

Miss Clark
Teacher of French - Trip Leader

Year 7 Peak District Trip
Year 7 pupils left for the Peak District on Thursday 20th October. Firstly we went to Stanage Edge. It is a steep mountain but the difficult climb is worth it. The views at the top are stunning. We spent around 4 hours on a tour of Stanage Edge. My group went along the top to a small cave in the rock. Then we discussed the conflict between user groups that happens at Stanage Edge. Next we moved on to go down into a little woodland. In there we were pretending to be certain people that use the land and had a debate about our separate problems. Finally, we went down to see a local farm. The man who owned the farm had to have several different jobs to keep his farm going. We then went back to the youth hostel. There, we had a talk from a National Park Ranger about conflict. On the Friday we went to look at Mam Tor the ‘Shivering Mountain’. Then we went into the caves. These are famous because they are one of the only mines that produces Blue John. This is a blue and yellow rock. They also showed us lots of stalagmites and stalactites. Then we drew a field sketch from the entrance to the cave of all of the mountains, fields and villages. Next we walked around Castleton. Some people took photographs, some people did traffic counts and some people gave locals questionnaires. Finally we went to see a limestone quarry. It was about a mile in length and it would take you about an hour to walk across. A large truck came and we all had a go it sitting in the driver’s seat. Lastly, the truck driver lifted the bucket on the back so that we could see it happening and then drove back to the quarry. Then 80 tired Year 7 pupils and teachers went home for half term! Report by Annabelle Woodward. To read another report by Becky Richardson, please click here.

Mrs Whitaker
Teacher of Geography - Trip Leader

Music School
Young Voices Tickets
The deadline for ordering tickets to watch the Young Voices event is Monday 14th November. To order tickets please click here. We cannot accept any orders after the Monday deadline. Tickets will go on general release to the public after 25th November, so if you need additional tickets after this date, please contact the Genting Arena box office directly.

Chapel Choir
Chapel Choir should arrive at 9.15am on Sunday for a rehearsal before the Remembrance Service begins at 10.15am.  The service will finish at about 11.15am.

It is important that choristers make every effort to attend all rehearsals for the rest of this term, as there is a substantial amount of Christmas repertoire to learn. Weekly rehearsals for all Prep School choristers are as follows:

Monday 12.10pm - 12.30pm
Wednesday 8.00am - 9.05am
Thursday 8.00am - 9.05am

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Leutfeld
Head of Music

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

• Daily challenge:
  Monday 14th November - Greece
  Tuesday 15th November – Switzerland
  Wednesday 16th November – Lithuania
  Thursday 17th November – Hungary
  Friday 18th November - Bulgaria
• Extension questions:
  1.   What is the capital city of this country?
  2.   What does the flag look like?
  3.   How many people live in this country?
  4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Dr Fordham
Head of Geography

Sports Fixtures Week Commencing 14th November 2016

Wednesday 16th November
Rugby
U13A, B & C v Oakham – Home – 2.30 start
U12A, B & C v Oakham – Home – 2.30 start
U11A & B v MCS Oxford – Away – 2.30 start
U10A & B v MCS Oxford – Away – 2.30 start
Hockey
1st/3rd/5th v Oakham – Away – 2.30 start
2nd/4th/6th v Oakham – Away – 3.15 start
U11A, B & C v Stamford – Home – 2.30 start

Thursday 17th November
Rugby
U9A & B v Laxton Juniors – Home – 2.30 start
Hockey
U9A & B v Laxton – Home – 2.30 start

Friday 18th November
Hockey
U10A & B v Kimbolton – Home – 1515 start

Saturday 19th November
Rugby
U13A & B v Princethorpe – Home – 1030 start
U12A & B v Princethorpe – Home – 1030 start

Sunday 20th November
Rugby
U9, U10, U11s National Schools Rugby Tournament @ WPS – 1100 start

U11 & U13 Squad Selections for Wellington College Rugby Festival
Both Mr Hilton and I will be naming our squads for the Wellington College Rugby festival on Monday 14th November. All parents of the players selected will receive an email on Monday with details of the festival to include travel itinerary, accommodation costs, group draw, playing schedules and other relevant information.

I can also confirm the draw has been made for the Wellington festival and we have been drawn as follows: -

• Wellingborough U11s have been drawn in Group 4 with Caldicott, Hampton, North Bridge and Oratory Prep School.
• Wellingborough U13s have been drawn in Group 2 alongside Cranmore, Eagle House, Lambrook and Shrewsbury House.

For a full festival draw and playing schedule click here.

It has been very difficult trying to select the squads for the up and coming festival and I would personally like to take this opportunity to thank all the players for their efforts so far this term.

National Schools Rugby Tournament Draw
The draw has been made for the National Schools rugby tournament and I can confirm the following groups.

• Wellingborough U9s have been drawn in group 2 alongside St John’s Northwood, Beachborough, The Paragon, Croft school and Akeley Wood.
• Wellingborough U10s have been drawn in Group 2 alongside Winchester House, Gayhurst, St John’s Northwood and the Croft School.
• Wellingborough U11s have been drawn in Group 3 alongside The Paragon, St John’s Northwood, Bedford Modern and Dame Bradbury’s School.

I can confirm the top two in each group will qualify for the National finals which take place next term at Epsom College in March 2017.

We wish our teams the best of luck for the tournament and the squads will be named on Monday 14th November. 

IAPS National Swimming Competition
I am delighted to confirm we have been entered in to the IAPS National Swimming competition and our regional heats will be held at Kimbolton School in February (date t.b.c). We have entered teams for both boys and girls categories for Years 6, 7 & 8. All races will be 50m and we will look to enter pupils in to the following events: Front crawl, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Butterfly stroke and team relay.

Please can I ask that if any pupils swim for clubs out of school please can you email me the following details: -

Pupil Name:
Form Class:
Club:
Preferred stroke and PB:

For those who do not swim for clubs but are interested in representing our school at the regional qualifiers please can you get yourself timed in a 50m pool and send me your preferred stroke and times. If there are any further questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport & Extra-Curricular Activities

Results
To view this week’s results please click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Children in Need – Friday 18th November
The time is here again and this year Chartwells and Wellingborough School will be selling Pudsey Bear cupcakes for 50p in aid of Children in Need. The cupcakes will be on sale to the children at morning break on Friday, 18th November. Thank you for your continued support for this worthy charity.

Chartwells

Masters Indoor Cricket World Series
Thank you to all of you who watched and supported me during my recent Indoor Cricket World Series. It was great to know that I had people supporting me from home. It was an amazing experience to play against the three top sides in the world at this form of the game. Although we did not win, we did well for a team that had only been together for three months playing against sides that have known each other (and played the game) for many years. We learnt a huge amount from the experience and had many positive comments from all who watched us play. I made many new friends and it is definitely an experience that I will never forget. Dubai is now calling in three years time - watch this space!

Miss Kingstone

Information to Parents
Please visit the parents login area on the website to view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org. Click here.

This week saw the launch of our very own story writing competition, which saw pupils write their own book in just one day.

The ‘Write a Book in a Day’ competition aims to bring school children together to create their own book. The competition, organised by us, was opened to local school children, with teams of up to 10 pupils from 10 local schools taking part in the contest.

The competition gives teams just 10 hours to plan, write, illustrate and bind a book. Each team is given unique story features and words that they must include in their project, with the aim of encouraging children to think creatively. The winning team will be named next month, with all entries being printed and donated to the Children's Ward at Northampton General Hospital.

Our pupils compiled their entry this Tuesday with a team of Year 5 and 6 pupils and a team of Year 7 and 8 pupils each creating a book which they titled:  Cloudy Eyes and The Plan! The day saw the library become the pupils’ own publishing company, with teams working together to brainstorm ideas, allocate roles and structure their story.  WABIAD is unique in that it allows children to come together and produce something from their own hard work and imagination. The competition provided the perfect platform for them to unleash their creativity and as one pupil commented at the end of the day: "that was the best day of the whole year!".  If you would like to read the books, they can be borrowed from the school library.

I am looking forward to celebrating the hard work of all of our pupils next Friday at the special Prize Giving Ceremony. We hope that many of you will be able to join us at the celebration where we also thank our Year 8 pupils and announce the new Club Captains and Head Boy and Head Girl for the next academic year. The ceremony will commence at 10am in the marquee on the School Grounds. As you are aware, we have limited parking available on site, therefore we respectfully request that you park in one of the nearby public car parks for this occasion. Pupils will go back to class following the ceremony.

Huge thanks to the WPSA for the fantastic Family Fun Evening last week. It certainly was a truly memorable evening and I would like to acknowledge the army of volunteers who made it so successful. A very early "hold the date" for the next WPSA event which will be a "Ferret Race" evening on Friday, 13th October. This will be a first for the Prep School and will be a night to remember, I'm sure!

Mrs Owen
Deputy Head - Curriculum

New for September 
Lessons in Music Production and Contemporary Guitar
We are excited to be able to offer individual lessons in two new areas from September:

1. Music Technology - an introduction to the range of techniques and skills essential to modern music recording and composing. A possible first step to becoming a recording engineer or music producer.
2. Contemporary Guitar - electric, acoustic and bass guitar lessons with a focus on current pop repertoire.

We expect these lessons to be popular and there will be limited availability. You can enrol before the summer holiday by contacting Liz Burleigh on eab@wellingboroughschool.org.

Fiddle Fiesta
Our 8th annual Fiddle Fiesta will take place on Monday 26th June in the Pre-Prep Hall. On the day of the event we are going to gather together every string player from the Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior Schools, to play as a single ensemble. We will also be joined by a visiting professional string quartet. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to parents of string players. Family and friends are warmly invited to come along to the concert at 2.15pm. 

Windband Day
Our annual Windband Day will take place on Tuesday 27th June. During the School day our Prep and Senior School brass and wind ensembles will rehearse alongside a professional quintet, culminating in a massed performance at 4.30pm in Chapel. Details of arrangements for the day have been emailed to the parents of pupils who are involved. Family and friends are invited to come along to the final concert.

Song to learn for Prize Giving
I would like all Prep School pupils to learn 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars, as they will be singing it at Prize Giving on 30th June. The pupils have lyrics sheets which have been handed out in class.

Ensemble Rehearsal Cancellations
Please note that there will be no Orchestra rehearsal on Thursday 29th June due to the Senior Leavers' Service. Music Tech Club will also be cancelled on Tuesday 27th June due to Windband Day.

Trinity Music Exam Results
Congratulations to the following pupils on their outstanding results from last week's Trinity music exams:

Lottie Heaver (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Lili Howe (Grade 2 Flute) - Distinction
Rhianna Osborne (Grade 3 Flute ) - Merit
Thomas Ravest (Initial Grade Cello) - Distinction

Music Lesson Timetables
To view next week’s timetables of individual lessons, which are also displayed just inside the main entrance to the music department, click here.

Mr Irvine
Head of Sport and Extra-Curricular

Country of the Day
To continually improve location knowledge in the Prep School, here is a daily challenge from 6LW. Your focus for each day is to locate the country on a map! If that is too easy, there are some extension questions too…

Daily challenge:
Monday 26th June - Ireland
Tuesday 27th June - Senegal
Wednesday 28th June – South Korea
Thursday 29th June - Guatemala
Friday 30th June - India

Extension questions:
1.   What is the capital city of this country?
2.   What does the flag look like?
3.   How many people live in this country?
4.   What are the most notable features of this country?

Tour Fundraising Committee

Star Summer Camp (17-21 July 2017)
Early booking and sibling discounts available - book early to avoid disappointment! For more information click here.

Arts Action Camp (24-28 July 2017)
Open to pupils in Years 3-13 - Book now to avoid disappointment as limited spaces. For more information click here.

Information to Parents
To view copies of letters sent by Clarioncall and weekly team sheets please click here to be redirected to Parents Login. If you do not know the login details please email prep-office@wellingboroughschool.org.