From the Head of the Preparatory School

Respect

One of my reflections as students returned to school after the extended period of remote learning was their sheer delight in being back at school, and embracing all that came with that. If anything, we were pleasantly surprised at how respectful the students were to their peers and teachers alike. Whilst I don’t want to be too negative, it is fair to say that the honeymoon is over, and we have noticed that some of the boys have slipped in their behaviour and respect has dropped off a little. This is a key focus for the remainder of the year to ensure the students are clearly reminded about the importance of treating one another, and the adults in our community, with respect at all times. I encourage families to also prioritise this at home so that we are communicating a common message.

I thought it appropriate to include the Prep School’s Essential Agreement in the hope that it can be a point of discussion over the dinner table as well as the classroom.

PYP Exhibition

Next Tuesday evening is the launch of this year’s PYP Exhibition. The last few days have been frenetic in the Year 6 Centre as the boys have finalised essays, poems and artworks and prepared and filmed speeches. All of this content is in the process of being uploaded to the School’s Expo site in readiness to share with the School and wider community in the coming days.

The presentation on Tuesday night will be predominantly for Year 6 parents, however, I strongly encourage all families to visit the Expo site from Wednesday onwards to view the students’ work and to leave some feedback for them. The Expo site can be accessed using your Trinity parent login.

Orientation Day

We continue to plan and look forward to Orientation Day on Friday 3rd December when students will have the opportunity to meet new students that will be joining their cohort and the teachers on the grade they will be entering. Whilst Orientation Day will continue as planned for students, there are additional measures and limitations to ensure the safety of our existing and new students, and their families.

Today we will be sending home information to our new Pre-Kindergarten, and new and existing Kindergarten families to support the orientation experience. Whilst the obvious focus is on supporting the students’ orientation, we are also very aware of how important it is to support parents in this process. The information sent home will contain links to parent information sessions that we hope prove helpful.

Stage 3 Parent Information Session – Flexible Personalised Learning

On Monday evening I conducted a parent information session about Flexible Personalised Learning in Years 5 and 6. It was great to be joined by nearly 80 people, although I was disappointed not to do so in person where there could have been greater levels of interaction and discussion. Nonetheless, I hope that the session proved helpful in giving parents a sense of the learning that awaits their son as he enters Year 5 and 6 next year, and the way the new Learning Centres will support this.

The key benefits of Flexible Personalised Learning are as follows:

• Greater flexibility in meeting student learning needs as teachers work across the cohort, through the use of fluid grouping strategies.
• Increased tracking of student learning needs by the teaching team as they assess, plan and teach in a collaborative environment.
• Supporting transition to high school through an increased focus on independence and responsibility.
• Increased student agency (voice, choice and ownership) in the daily and yearly learning journey.

If you missed the session, it can be accessed via this link. If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We look forward to parents being able to gain a greater sense of the new learning centres in the new year.

IPSHA NetFit Saturday Sport program

Tomorrow is the final session of the IPSHA NetFit program and it can be accessed via this link. I hope this program has been helpful in supporting the students’ fitness and filled a gap created by the absence of Saturday Sport this term.

End of Year Dates

In light of the ongoing restrictions we have had to modify a number of end of year events. The current plan is as follows. Any additional changes will be communicated closer to the date.

• Tuesday 23rd November: Year 6 PYP Exhibition – online event.
• Monday 6th December: Years 3-6 Prize Giving – this event will be for students only but will be live streamed for parents. Time still to be confirmed.
• The Christmas Service will be pre-recorded and sent home.
• Tuesday 7th December: Year 6 Valedictory Service – we hope to be able to invite parents onsite for this event. Details still to be confirmed.
• Wednesday 8th December: Final day for all Prep School students and Picnic Day for Years 3-6.
• Thursday 9th December: Year 7 2022 Allwell Testing – Year 6 students only will need to attend school on this day to take part in Allwell Testing. The result of these assessments is invaluable for the Middle School teachers and Housemasters as they support the students’ transition into Year 7 and beyond.

Chris Wyatt | Head of the Preparatory School

‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ John 1:14