Good morning, Prep School family,
How are you all doing on this Wednesday morning? We are half way through the week already – where has the time gone? I had a lovely day in school yesterday – lots of playing in the snow, making snowmen and sledging down the hill with Mr Colin and Mrs Caddy (shhhhhh, don’t tell Dr Luker that we had so much fun)! I have attached a picture of Highclare St Paul’s playground before and after children! What a difference a day makes. . .
I don’t know if I have told you before that when I was younger, I went to boarding school and one of the evening activities that we did was to go bird watching. I was at school near Worksop so we went bird watching every Thursday (I think) at Rufford Park. I absolutely loved it. I had binoculars and a note book and I made detailed notes of the birds that we would see weekly. These would obviously change throughout the year and with the seasons. I was a dab hand at telling a coot from a moorhen and a goldfinch from a chaffinch. I was so keen; I even became a member of the YOC (Young Ornithologists’ Club – renamed in 2000 to Wildlife Explorers). I wore my badge on my blazer with pride.
I have to admit that when I reached secondary school, my love of bird watching dwindled but as I have got older, I again find myself looking at the birds with interest. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go out every Thursday night with my notepad anymore (not judging if you do) but I do find it a relaxing past time. It has helped that my nephew Arthur also enjoys spotting different birds. Before this lockdown, we would often go for walks and identify many birds as we could and Arthur was even able to identify some by their song due to an amazing book he got for his birthday.
So, I thought I would share a nationwide activity that you can take part in this weekend as a family. The RSPB hold an annual ‘Big Bird Watch’ and they ask as many people as possible to watch their garden for an hour and complete a survey of birds that they have seen. This helps the experts then to notice any trends and spot any issues that they can then think about putting right. I have included the link below. You can do it anytime this weekend – go on, what else have you got to do?!
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
**Children in Year 3-6, this section is for you!
I am writing to invite you to a new club that I am starting on a Friday. It is called ‘Tea and Talk’.
I don’t know about you but I really miss chatting with my friends when I am not at school. I really miss chatting to you! I miss hearing all about your days in class and all the things you get up to of a weekend or evening. It is lovely to see the children in school so I get to talk to them on a regular basis but I very rarely get to speak to those of you that are staying at home. So, I thought I would host a time that anyone in Yr3-6 could drop in and have a chat with me and anyone else who joins us! We can talk about anything you want from your work in school, to films you have watched to your weekend plans. Anything! If you would talk about it in school – we can talk about it in ‘Tea and Talk’. If you want to pop along and not talk but just listen to us chatting – this is fine as well.
I will host this session on Fridays from 4pm-5pm. It’s a completely optional drop in session. You don’t need to sign up, just come along. You can come some weeks and then not others – it really is to suit you. I have called it ‘Tea and Talk’ as if you remember from a Mrs Bennett’s Bulletin long ago, I always like to have a delicious cup of tea at 4pm. I shall be bringing my 4pm cuppa with me!
I am planning to hold this as a cross site club but if numbers make it hard, we can look at the logistics going forward. We will start this club this Friday (29th Jan). I will send out the Zoom link closer to the day so it doesn’t get lost and I look forward to chatting to you very soon.
Days of the year theme: Chocolate Cake Day and National Geographic Day.
Quote of the Day: “Creative thinking inspires ideas. Ideas inspire change.” Barbara Januszkiewicz
Happier January calendar task (this month’s activities are based on doing things that make us happier):
*Challenge your negative thoughts and look for the upside
TOP’s weekly activity: Can you learn 15 new countries and their capital cities?
Life skill of the day: Prepare some simple snacks
Joke of the day:
Why did the pony get sent to his room?
He wouldn’t stop horsing around!
Fact of the Day:
Did you know that each star is a different colour depending on its temperature?
Sleeps til Santa: 331 days!
Three things I’m looking forward to today (thanks to Mrs Hinch for the inspiration): Can you try this each day? Remember, it focuses your mind on the positive and reminds us to show gratitude for things, no matter how small!
Today I am looking forward to: being in school, eating my lunch and clean linen on my bed.
Enjoy today,
Stay safe,
Mrs Bennett
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