The Prep 3 children have made an impressive start to their Junior journey, settling into new routines beautifully and making the most of all the new opportunities available to them.

We are delighted to see so many children joining new clubs such as Musical Theatre and Limelighters where they have the opportunity to work alongside new friends of all ages, exploring the creativity and pleasure of performance. Record numbers of children are attending Late Games, where they show resilience and respect for their teammates while developing their sporting skills and love for different sports. Some sporting fixtures have already taken place, and the children have represented Lady Barn beautifully, making us all very proud. We know this will continue to happen throughout the year when other children have the opportunity to represent school to the wider community in sporting fixtures.  

The children are enjoying all subjects, showing their thirst for knowledge along with their enthusiasm for joining in lessons with eagerness. They are particularly enjoying the English work connected to our new book, Seal Surfer. This text offers so many different opportunities for learning far beyond the story itself. The language is rich and interesting which promotes lots of discussion and allows the children to respectfully listen to their peers' thoughts and opinions. Perhaps their favourite activity so far has been taking facts about seals’ lives, habitats and habits and applying this awareness to other animals, so they can think more deeply about their behaviours.

Using this knowledge, the children have written the most marvellous riddles about animals and then shared them with each other to see if they can work out which animal is being described. Activities like this are always much loved by the children because they are fun and interactive, yet they offer so many other more subtle opportunities. The children must listen carefully to their contemporises whilst they learn new facts and offer praise to a friend for sharing their work. This mutual respect is one of the firm foundations needed when building a great new class which all children feel valued members of.  

What a wonderful way to start a new school year!  

Mrs Rishworth 

Head of Lower Juniors