Last week, our Children in Need ramble was sadly postponed due to the rain – it would have been more of a swim than a walk given how bad the rain was! Fortunately, the weather gods smiled on us today as all classes were able to get out into the woods in all their glory and follow Mr. Rooney’s Pudsey trail. We don’t have a final total yet for our fundraising, but thank you to all parents who donated to the Children in Need pot!
Prep Five set out for a geographical field study walk in the woods today, to consolidate our topic on rivers. Feeling excited about our unexpected freedom on a Tuesday afternoon, we squelched along the muddy path, enjoying the puddles and the autumn leaves.
Once in the woods, we looked up at the patterns made by bare branches of a tree against the blue sky and the veins on an autumn leaf, and saw they show the same patterns as a river system, where small rivulets join a main river. We also saw how water gathers and forms a tiny stream flowing downhill from boggy ground, just like the source of a river.
Next, we walked down to Kempnough Brook, and saw how it was joined by smaller tributary streams. It was rather like the Blue Nile and the White Nile – but somewhat smaller! As the brook meandered its way through the woods, we were able to spot erosion, where the fast-flowing brook had worn away the bank, and small “beaches” on the other side, where the slower flowing water how deposited stones, mud, sticks and sand.
For many of us, the highlight of the walk was paddling in the water in our wellingtons, where it was shallow enough to find some interesting historical artefacts on the bed of the brook. We found coal, fragments of old pottery, bits of tile and brick, as well as round pebbles which had rubbed together over many years to become smooth.
Finally, we took the path uphill where we could look down on the brook and see all the meanders through the bare trees. Mr. Grant noticed that we too were meandering as we walked, just like the water. We realised that the brook and children meandered for the same reason; to avoid obstacles in our path. We squelched our way back to school, tired but happy, and prised our reluctant wellingtons off at the door. An excellent afternoon’s work, with beautifully behaved children who listened and answered questions thoughtfully and knowledgeably.
Many thanks to Mr. Grant for his geographical expertise and enthusiasm, and to Miss Gregory for accompanying us on our walk.
Prep IV’s Beatrice will be doing her bit for Children in Need this year and has been dancing live on Newsround today to promote the event.
She has dance lessons on Saturdays at the Miss Joanne Farnell School of Dancing, and the school is one of many that is taking part in Tapathon 2022, an annual nationwide tap-dancing event, with the dual purpose of raising money for Children in Need and setting a new world record by getting as many people as possible tap dancing at the same time across the country.
Beatrice took part in her first Tapathon virtually during lockdown in 2020, and last year was able to perform in person in the Orient at the Trafford Centre, both on the evening of Children in Need night, and again on the Sunday for the world record attempt and further fundraising. This year they will be bringing a new performance back to the Trafford Centre on both days.
The BBC have decided to cover the event on their Newsround programme and were at the dance studios in Eccles at 7am this morning to get a preview of this year’s routine and talk to a couple of the dancers. Beatrice has been selected from over 200 dance school students to be part of a group of 30 dancers from Year 3 upwards to perform early on Friday morning.
Well done Beatrice!
Bridgewater under 10s had never played as a team in a full blown rugby match before. By the end of the afternoon at Merchant Taylor’s School they had managed to turn many heads from large rugby playing schools around the North of England with their skill, team work, controlled aggression and game plan.
The first match against Birkenhead Grammar was an example of what was to come from this impressive team. Led by the irrepressible Oscar the team stormed to an early lead with a try from Mason. Further tries from Oscar, Jacob and Oliver led to an amazing 7-1 victory.
The second match was a little closer with Scarisbrick Hall having a star player who was as wide as he was tall! Yet again though the Bridgewater team outran their opponents with impressive tries from Jensen, Keane, Oscar and Jacob leading to a 5-2 victory.
Bridgewater had won their group and would have Stockport Grammar in the final play-off.
The 4 more experienced boys in the team had led the way so far but the final was the time when Sam, Henry, Mason, Oliver and Harrison came to the fore all scoring impressive tries and smashing some text book tackles.
Mr. Rooney is already looking for more fixtures for this impressive team. Thanks to the wonderful support from the parents who attended and Mr. Rooney Jnr. for his voluntary technical assistance.
Defined as “ongoing hurtful behaviour towards someone online”, cyber-bullying makes its victims feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe. In the digital world, it has numerous forms – such as hurtful comments on a person’s posts or profile; deliberately leaving them out of group chats; sharing embarrassing images or videos of someone; or spreading gossip about them. Cyber-bullying can severely impact a young person’s mental health … so, in support of Anti-Bullying Week, we’ve provided a list of tips to help trusted adults know what to look for and how to respond to it.
In the guide, you’ll find tips such as playing online games with your child, talking about your child’s online life and being prepared to listen without showing any judgement or criticism. (Source: nationalonlinesafety.com)
After a resounding victory in their previous match, our Prep III were in confident mode as they travelled to Branwood Prep for their next fixture. Full of enthusiasm, the result sadly didn’t go our way as Branwood ran out 6-3 winners, but the team were competitive until the end, played the game in great spirit and despite the loss were a credit to the school.
Our Prep V sports girls and boys were in action last week, as both teams took on U11 teams from Beech Hall. The boys won comfortably, scoring several goals despite conditioning rules designed to make them think more carefully (and make it harder) about the way they were playing. The girls worked hard, but were unable to overcome their opposition, losing 10-5. A special mention to Florence who was awarded player of the match by the other team.
Despite the results, these were good performances by both teams, who continue to develop their sporting skills.
Congratulations to the Prep Science teams who competed in today’s National Science Quiz against schools from all over the U.K.
They were given some very difficult questions but they performed admirably answering questions on all areas of the subject.
Fingers crossed that our score will get us to the next round later in the year. Thanks to Mr. Grant for organising this.
We were delighted during last week’s assembly to listen to Poppy perform her piano piece “Confrontation” for the Prep department during our awards assembly on Friday. Poppy has been playing since she was two, and practises every day. What a great example for us, and well played Poppy!
Prep III’s Burwaldsley trip fell on just the right day – weather wise!
We crammed a whole wealth of activities into just one day (with a quick break for lunch).
We learnt about Stone Age times all the way up to Celtic Britain during the Iron Age. We learnt to hunt woolly mammoths with bows and arrows, like the Stone Age ‘hunter gatherers’ and how to weave willow to build Celtic roundhouses. Some of us even helped with the messy wattle and daub to weather-proof our structures. Take a look at our exciting photos.
Bridgewater School - Prep. Department 