Headmaster’s Update
You’ll be aware that at TPS we strongly believe in our four school values, asking everyone in our community to be Considerate, Calm, Courteous and Courageous. During this term, our focus is on the third of these values, placing emphasis on good manners, politeness and kindness at all times in our interactions with others. Indeed, on Monday, the Lower School assembly focused on the principle of ‘etiquette’, a principle introduced in the Victorian era when Lord Chesterfield introduced the term to society at the time. We are aiming to recognise and celebrate examples of excellent courtesy throughout the spring term, given the positive impact of doing so on our relationships and how being courteous shows respect to others.
This week has been a busy introduction to the spring term for many year groups. Year 8 have taken part in the first of a series of fantastic photography workshops with Simon Whitehead alongside Mrs Freeman. Years 3 and 4 reveled in the humour and expertise of Mr Dilly in a workshop on Wednesday, exploring the Ancient Egyptians and Tudors respectively; did you know that Tutankhamen was just 18 years-old when he died and that his tomb in the Valley of Kings was one of the most splendid ever discovered with over 5000 artifacts inside, including furniture and gold jewellery? A special thank you to Miss Maddison for organising Mr Dilly’s visit. Today, Year 4 had a wonderful trip to the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon to see ‘The Firework Maker’s Daughter’, a dramatisation of the brilliant book by Phillip Pullman – a must read! We’ve also held Bounce workshops for Years 3 and 4 with Dr Kate and Dr Sarah this week, building the children’s knowledge of strategies for resilience-building and wellbeing.
This morning’s Celebration Assembly was a wonderful opportunity to highlight the children’s achievements and contributions with a whole host of activities, including our Science Crest Club programme, music examination outcomes, commendations, Think Tank certificates, presentations to our new School Librarians and marking the children’s Merit milestones. I must make special mention of the exciting news shared of the Year 5 and Year 6 children who achieved top marks in the Primary Maths Challenge, a nationwide competition which sees the children attempt to solve a range of high-level maths problems. Special congratulations go to: Edward T, Ed C, Archie H, Freddie L (Bronze); Jack G and Erin W (Silver) and Nils D, Edward S, Kellan W and Hanna A (Gold) for their fantastic achievements! Mrs Clough also confirmed that the top scorers with a gold award will qualify for the Bonus Round Final in February, along with the other top mathematicians in the country!
Oliver Barrett, Headmaster
Key Dates
Jan
| Day: | Date: | Event: |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | 19 | Year 2 Trip to Windsor Castle |
| Mon | 19 | Year 5 Bounce Workshops |
| Mon | 19 | Year 6 Maths Trip to Kempton Racecourse |
| Mon | 19 | Year 7 LAMDA Drama Workshop (Twyford School) |
| Tue | 20 | Audiologist Visit – Hearing Test |
| Tue | 20 | Senior Prep Academic Review Meetings (online) |
| Tue | 20 | 5R Class Assembly |
| Tue | 20 | Year 8 Photography session (during art lessons) |
| Wed | 21 | Senior Prep Academic Review Meetings (online) |
| Thu | 22 | Senior Prep Academic Review Meetings (online) |
| Thu | 22 | E-Sports IAPS Competition – Practice Round (invite only) |
| Fri | 23 | Prayer Meeting |
All up to date events information can be found on MSP
Sports Fixtures
Jan
| Day: | Date: | Sport Event: | Location: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | 21 | Year 7&8 Boys A vs Newland House | NPL Sports Ground (Bushy Park Sports Club) |
| Fri | 23 | Year 4 Girls Netball and Football Masterclass with SWPS Coaches | TPS |
| Sat | 24 | U11 Netball Tournament at Newland House | Newland House School |
All up to date events information can be found on MSP
Library Update from Mrs Haywood
Mrs Fox and Mrs Lindsay’s February Half-Term Art Club at TPS
Little Voices – February Half-Term ‘Wicked’ Camp in Richmond
Next Thing Education – February Half-Term Tech Camp at TPS
My School Portal Mobile App
As you may already be aware, there is a brand new My School Portal (MSP) mobile app which has been recently launched which we believe will be a positive step forward in terms of school communications. We would like to encourage you all to download the app as soon as you can! The app is designed to modernise school communications and streamline admin tasks, while giving parents and guardians a more seamless mobile first experience. This communication aims to give you a set of steps to download the app, login to your account and access important school information.
The mobile app looks like this:
You can access your child’s account via the application by either searching for ‘My School Portal’ within the app store or using one of the following QR codes below:
Google Play: Apple:
Once downloaded you will be need to go through the following steps to log into your TPS school account:
- Click Get Started, then Continue
- Start typing the school name into the search bar to find it from the list. (Twickenham Prep)
- Tap the name of the school you’d like to connect with.
- Enter your MSP credentials into the login page.
Once complete, the application will load and you will be able to start exploring.
Note: To use the app, you must have a PIN, passcode, or biometric authentication set up on your device. The application may ask you to set this up during initial login.
Once logged in, you will be given access to the home screen and four buttons at the bottom of the screen:
- In the Home tab, you’ll find the school dashboard and your child’s academic information, where you can see reports and the day planner.
- The Inbox is where you’ll find messages from the school. Use filters to new unread messages, see ‘starred’ favourites or messages sent via email or SMS. Push notications only work if your school uses MSP Messaging system. If not, messages will still appear in your inbox, but you won’t receive alerts.
- The Bookings tab is where you can manage appointments, activites and payements. This may include clubs, trips, parents evenings and more.
- The More tab is your gateway to additional school resources. This may include access to news, media galleries, school and parent information, and other helpful links.
Notifications for the inbox have to be manually activated. To do this, return to the home screen then press the settings cog button at the top right of the screen. Tick the notifications checkbox and confirm with your phone to enable them. The settings area allows users to add additional schools to the app (if you have another child at a different school), as well as view the privacy policy.
Additionally please note some security features:
- Session Timeouts: The app will lock after one hour of inactivity, requiring reauthentication with a PIN, passcode or biometrics.
- Reauthentication: You will be prompted to reauthenticate with your username and password if you haven’t used the app for 30 days.
- Updates: You will be prompted to update your app following any updates to ensure you have the latest features and improvements.
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: 19th January Menu Week 3
