Headmaster’s Update
This final week of the first half of spring term has been truly action-packed and it’s been a treat to finish today with our ‘Spots and Stripes’ themed non-uniform day, with money raised in support of African Vision Malawi and our partner school in Songwe. Building on last week’s wellbeing theme, we focused on the importance of quality sleep in our Upper School Assembly, and just how beneficial ‘forty winks’ can be to our ability to learn new concepts, improve memory, reduce stress and anxiety and boost our creativity. It truly is a ‘miracle cure’! We know being active is a great tonic too, and it’s been fun to witness the ‘Shoot the Hoop’ House Challenge taking place in breaktimes across the week, with congratulations to Firebird for their victory, announced earlier today in assembly.
We suitably marked Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 10th February with a range of activities across the school. Miss Jones has been teaching Pre-Prep about voice-assistants, like ‘Alexa’, and how they can be helpful to us, but that they cannot provide emotional support, like friends or family can. Prep children have looked at different scenarios where we might use artificial intelligence, discussing where and when it is good practice to do so. The Senior Prep have looked at this in greater depth, exploring ethics and potential harmful AI-related behaviours.
The staff and children need little invitation to celebrate at TPS, and Thursday’s Lunar New Year lunch saw even greater enthusiasm than usual to reach the dining room and enjoy a feast of chicken tatsutaage, garlic beef, prawn crackers and spring rolls – truly mouthwatering! We are so lucky to have such a talented team in the kitchen, led by Miss Cassiano and Mrs De Bortoli. Today, the New Year festivities continued, with the Zodiac Dance workshops focused on the Chinese zodiac animals taking place in the Studio for Pre-Prep and Prep pupils, thanks to Mrs Walker’s oversight. Teamwork and being ‘Stronger Together’ was the theme behind 1L’s fabulous class assembly on Tuesday, which used the metaphor of a tree to describe interconnectivity and included a super retelling of one of my favourite books, ‘The Rainbow Fish’, which shares the message that true happiness and friendship comes from sharing. It was so impressive to see Mrs Lindsay’s class perform with such confidence.
As we reach the half-term break, I would like to draw your attention to some exciting plans we have for the weeks leading up to Easter. Immediately after half-term, we have the Junior Duke programme in the week commencing 23rd February, seeing the usual teacher-led clubs programme suspended in order for the children signed up for Junior Duke to attend a host of activities run by TPS staff, so please do check the timings of the sessions. And don’t forget that outside agency clubs will still run! At the start of March, our fabulous Book Week will take place. There will be author visits, a book fair, creative writing sessions and of course our dress up day is planned for Thursday 6th March for the children to represent their favourite literary characters. Please note that there is also a special competition to make a shoe box diorama to represent a favourite book or scene with a deadline for entry of 27th February. See below for further details about all the Book Week events.
Wishing everyone a very enjoyable half-term break!
Oliver Barrett, Headmaster
Key Dates
Feb
| Day: | Date: | Event: |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 23rd – Friday 27th – Bikeability training all week | ||
| Monday 23rd – Friday 27th – Junior Duke all week | ||
| Mon | 23 | Year 7&8 Residential Trips Meeting @ 6.30pm |
| Tue | 24 | School Council Meeting |
| Tue | 24 | Young Voices Trip @ O2 |
| Tue | 24 | Travelling Book Fair |
| Wed | 25 | Travelling Book Fair |
| Thu | 26 | Year 1 visit to St Mary’s Church |
| Thu | 26 | E-Sports IAPS Competition – Qualifying Round (invite only) |
| Fri | 27 | Prayer Meeting |
All up to date events information can be found on MSP
Sports Fixtures
Feb
| Day: | Date: | Sport Event: | Location: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 23 | Year 5&6 A combined team 7-a-side Football Tournament at Chelsea FC (invite only) | Chelsea FC Training Ground Cobham FC |
| Wed | 25 | Year 7&8 Boys A vs St Philip’s | Barn Elms |
| Wed | 25 | Year 6 Girls A&B Netball vs Radnor House | TBC |
| Wed | 25 | Year 6 A,B&C vs Tower House | Tower House |
| Fri | 27 | Year 3 Girls Hockey vs Willington | TBC |
| Fri | 27 | Year 3 Boys A&B vs Claremont | Kempton CC |
All up to date events information can be found on MSP
Book Squad Drop-in Sessions with Mrs Kidson – Years 3-6
UPDATE – Class Competition
Create a shoebox diorama showing your favourite book or scene from a book. Deadline is Friday 27th February.
World Book Day – Character Dress Up
Next Thing Tech Camp – February Half-Term at TPS
Next Thing Tech Camp
- Taking place at TPS next week from Monday 16th to Friday 20th February, 9am-4pm
- For children aged 5 to 11 years old
- £39.99 for a whole day of camp or book 5 days for £175⚡
Next Thing’s Tech Camps are all about making learning fun, encouraging skill-building and giving children the opportunity to try something different! From programming challenges, Robot Coding, Photoshop Skills, Minecraft, Take-home Inventions and LEGO programming, we have all the creative boxes ticked! Whether your child is a tech whiz, or new to STEM education, let them come along and make new friends, have a blast, and gain skills that will last a lifetime.
The main themes for the week are the following:
Bot Builders and Coders 🤖
Meet our Robots and learn visual coding and programming skills that make them come to life! Kickstart your career in STEM as you navigate your robot, create games, and explore new challenges. This is a great activity to help develop problem-solving skills.
Ingenious Inventors 💡
Flex your circuitry skills to make anything from buggies, alarms, and light sensors to an FM Radio!
LEGO Engineering 👩🔬
Step into a world of imagination and invention! Children will dream big, build bold, and bring incredible LEGO creations to life as they tackle exciting engineering challenges.
Minecraft / Expert Engineers 🚀
Fantastically fun! They’ll construct moving mechanisms using modular electronics, then jump into Minecraft to solve challenges, build imaginative worlds, and apply real-world engineering and problem-solving skills in a digital environment.
Media Madness 🎬
Unleash your inner creative genius and create your own music or start and produce your own film! The opportunities are endless on our media day!
Click Here to Book Now: https://www.nextthing.education/product/twickenham-preparatory-school-february-camp-2/
If you have any questions, or need support with your booking, please contact us on 01442 873150 or email info@nexthing.education.
Mrs Fox and Mrs Lindsay’s February Half-Term Art Club at TPS
My School Portal
My School Portal is a great school-to-parent communication system.
Here you will find the latest events, which can be synced with your electronic calendar, weekly menus and copies of all letters sent home.
Below are important notices from two key departments which are updated weekly:
Pre-Prep — messages from Mrs Barnes including club collection
Click Here
Safeguarding & Wellbeing messages from our Designated Safeguarding Team
Click Here
School Meals week commencing: 23rd February Menu Week 1
