Dear Parents,
Now that the final day of the term is done and all the boys have left for the Easter break, it is again time to review the half term.
The focus of the term has very much been on the annual production of Bugsy Malone and what a performance it was! Our boys certainly ‘wowed’ the audience with their singing and dramatic performances and we were collectively ‘splurged’ by their incredible performances - one could easily have thought that we were at the West End. I am tremendously grateful to the entire St Ed’s Family, especially Mrs Hagyard who organised, coordinated and directed the production. I am, of course, delighted with our boys and extremely proud of their enthusiasm and performances too!
Academically, we performed astoundingly well in the Lambrook Primary Maths challenges too. Our boys competed against 42 other schools and our Year 4’s finished 8th overall, a tremendous achievement indeed! On the STEAM front this term we investigated "Peace and Justice". Year 6 have worked towards their enterprise project creating their own businesses and managed spreadsheets, designed marketing campaigns and costed their products, learning which entrepreneurial skills are needed to run a business.
On the sports field, we again excelled - as the season progressed our boys embodied our school values of hard work, perseverance and resilience and developed excellent rugby strategy. Speed and technique improved, along with outstanding defence and all of our teams achieved great results in tough conditions – at St Ed’s true sportsmanship is alive and well. The final sports event of the term was our Inter-House Rugby Tournament. The level of Rugby had yet again improved dramatically since the beginning of the term and our boys displayed excellent levels of sportsmanship and teamwork to make this year’s competition very exciting. All boys put 100% in to help their houses and it was a joy to watch.
Finally, I would like to thank the St Ed’s Staff Team for their dedication and commitment to our school and, equally, I would like to thank our families for their continued support over the course of this half term. It is indeed an honour to be a part of the St Ed’s Family!
Derek Suttie
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD BOOK DAY 2019
On Thursday 7th March St Edward's pupils participated in World Book Day 2019. The theme for this year was "Share A Story". Apart from dressing up in wonderful costumes, there were lots of activities to take part in. From Little Griffins right through to Year 6, a wonderful story was written as it was passed from class to class. "James's Brilliant Idea" was read by Mr Suttie in Assembly much to the amusement of children and parents. Pre-Prep enjoyed a wonderful visit to Waterstones Reading and in the afternoon shared a story with cocoa and cookies. Favourite books and quotes were discussed, Extreme Reading photos taken, book swaps and a book treasure hunt took place. What a fantastic celebration of books, reading and imagination.
A MILLION VOICES
The St Edward’s Year 6 Choir were privileged to attend the ‘Voice in a Million’ concert on the 21st March. The boys travelled in to Wembley Arena to take part in this fantastic event. Voice in a Million was set up in 2009; as a promoter of school / singing events, with an under-pinning message that raises awareness of the plight of children in care and the importance of Adoption and Fostering, both in the UK and worldwide.
Now celebrating its tenth year, Voice In A Million presents an opportunity of a lifetime for school children from all backgrounds throughout the UK to come together united in song and perform in front of their own family and friends and members of the general public. Joining over 10,000 pupils from all different schools, our Year 6 Choir had an excellent time, singing and soaking up the atmosphere. Mrs Hagyard was quoted as saying “It was the highlight of my year…. for the next 2 weeks anyway!”
BUGSY MALONE JNR PRODUCTION
"Cause you give a little love and it all comes back to you"
What a fantastic production to end the Spring Term on. Congratulations to all those who took part in such a wonderful performance of Bugsy Malone Jnr.
SPORT
HOUSE RUGBY FESTIVAL
On the 29th March, St Edward’s held its Prep School House Rugby competition. Many parents came along to support their boys in what was a very exciting afternoon of rugby.
The level of Rugby had yet again improved dramatically. The boys displayed excellent levels of sportsmanship and teamwork to make this year’s competition very exciting. All boys put 100% in to help their houses and it was a joy to watch. The year 3-4 played Touch in which the final had to be settled with a golden try which was scored by this year’s winners St George’s. After a very close and exciting match the winner of this years 5-6 House Rugby also went to St George’s.
Final standings:
- 1st: St George’s
- 2nd: St Patrick’s
- 3rd: St David’s
- 4th: St Andrew’s
CROSS COUNTRY
The U11 Cross Country squad (Jacob, Josh PC, Oliver C, Joseph S, Owen and Max W) all competed in the Oratory 3.5k run on Thursday 7th March. The course was very challenging and the boys can be very proud of their efforts to finish 5th overall.
The final positions out of 70 were:
- Jacob 22nd
- Josh PC 26th
- Oliver C 31st
- Joseph S 40th
- Max W 49th
- Owen W 50th.
SWIMMING
Another fantastic term of swimming. The boys continue to progress and demonstrate safety awareness and improved technique.
National STA Level 3 Awards
Ethan K, Alexander B, Luke W, Ollie B, Thomas S, Luke H, Jordan N, Dylan W
St Edward's Water Safety Awards
Level 1
Salah, Levi
Level 2
Adam, Sudaksh, Fynn, Aditya, Nico W, Jerry, Dhananjay
Level 3
Afolabi, Rory B, Fletcher, Bernie, Harley, Luke K, Niall, Nico V, Oggy, Avkeerat, Vasisht, Aryan
Level 4
Medhh, Karthik
Level 5
Christoph, Harrison, Joshua G, Karam, Jacob A, Moussa, Jonathan M, Arthava, Toby W, Mihai, Kai, Rohan, Eric
Level 6
Safwen, James M, Patrick M, Jishnu, Taig, Luca, Daniel, Baichen
RUGBY
Teams travelled all over Berkshire competing against many schools. St George's, Dolphin, LVS, Reddam House, St Mary's, Daneshill, Thorngrove and Holme Grange. As the season progressed teams worked hard together and developed good strategy. Speed and technique improved, along with some outstanding defence. All teams showed great resilience and fortitude in tough conditions, and sportsmanship in our wins.
Rugby House Colours
Full Colours
Jacob B, Oliver C, Max H, Zach
Half Colours
Moussa, Taig, Thomas S, Luca, Luke H, Ronit, Isaac P, Joseph S, Owen, Dimeji, Aedan, Alex L, Haider
PRE-PREP
A day in the Life of Pre-Prep
Pre-Prep have had an exciting Spring term with lots of learning taking place. They have enjoyed reading, number work, Maths, English, writing and more. There have been lots of trips to Pangbourne Woods and they have had much fun celebrating days such as Holi, Easter & Mardi Gras.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths
Our STEAM topic this term has been "Peace and Justice" and students have been busy exploring. Year 6 have been working towards their enterprise project creating their own businesses. They have been managing spreadsheets, designing marketing campaigns and costing their products, learning all the skills it takes to run a business.
Year 5 have started the Formula One in Schools project and have decided on their team names, colours and logos. They have been learning how to use a Computer Aided Design tool to create a cardboard chassis and shell, working to the specifications outlined by the F1 in Schools organisation.
Year 2 have been getting creative through inspiration from artist Kandinsky. Students have been listening to Wagner and painting different shapes and colours from what they hear. Their abstract works have made the Year 2 classroom wonderfully colourful and expressive.
It is amazing what our boys are capable of and the ‘real life skills’ they can learn and apply through the STEAM projects. Look out next term for the StEd's Bank!
Lambrook House Maths Challenge
On Tuesday 12th March, six students from Year 4 had the privilege of taking part in a local Maths Challenge organised by Douglas Buchanan at Lambrook School. In total 42 teams took part in an afternoon of Maths challenges, puzzles, investigations, tangrams and dominoes. After 90 minutes of brain boggling fun, the boys waited anxiously for the results during the prize giving.
The St Edward’s team (Dylan and Baichen) came 8th. The other teams also worked very well together and demonstrated collaboration and problem-solving skills. A fantastic afternoon of mathematics for St Edward’s – well done, boys!
Chess Awards
Boys through to the Mega Final
Taig, Alex O, Daniel H, Baichen, Mihai, Dylan, Adhrit G, Aedan, Oliver C, Aniket
Chess Winners
Chess 1 - Mihai
Chess 2 - Yadveer
