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HPS Headlines
28th June 2024
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Head's Welcome
The final newsletter of the year should be a celebration. With so much happening, I want to thank you for your continued support and wish you all a wonderful summer break.
The array of events continues with sports days, the "Homefield’s Got Talent" competition, the Homefield Association Summer Fayre, our Peri Prom concert, BBQs, and Prize Givings. This year, we are introducing a Lower School Prize Giving, celebrating the boys' achievements. It's a busy last two weeks!
In between, we have had an external review of Learning and Teaching. I'll conclude with some highlights from that review:
- 'The boys were happy and confident in talking about their lessons and their learning. They were able to clearly articulate what was working well for them and the progress they were making'.
- 'Reading across the school is a key strength'.
- 'Boys are read to and with regularity. Story time in Reception class was particularly immersive and engaging. Phonics groups cater for boys’ differing levels of abilities, including extending more able boys. Reading corners in classrooms are lovely and are used to promote reading. The Library is in regular use and is a beautiful environment to promote a love of books. Many subjects link to reading or use reading as the gateway to other learning in their discipline e.g. a Classics lesson in Year 4 effectively linked Latin phrasing to Hermoine from Harry Potter. The boys enjoyed this immensely'.
- 'The pitch of lessons is consistently high. Many of the boys at Homefield are incredibly capable and teachers strive to offer high levels of challenge e.g. a Year 1 English lesson was using tongue twisters to teach alliteration. The boys were able to make up their own tongue twisters as a cooperative task. A boy in a Year 4 maths lesson independently explained permutation during a coordinates lesson. The boy was allowed to explain his understanding of this calculation with the other boys. Computing lessons track boys progress of typing speeds by recording wpm scores regularly so that they can see progress and aim for personal bests. A lively debate took place in a Year 7 and 8 PSHE lesson based on the elections. The boys were able to listen to their opponents and respond with convincing counter arguments'.
- 'Boys performance in previous PE lessons were taken into account when planning subsequent lessons. This demonstrates formative assessment informing planning through appropriate sequencing and progression of skills'.
- 'Homefield provides an excellent learning environment. The school is incredibly well resourced. Classrooms are tidy and organised across the board. Appropriate space and equipment is provided for Music as well as PE lessons/games'.
What a great school we have and one that we should all be rightly proud of and together, working in partnership, we can only get better.
A S Naismith
Head,
Homefield Prep School
Recent HPS Highlights!
🥼🔥"4S carried out an investigation to determine which of a selection of foods contains the most energy. They did this by igniting the food, holding it under a boiling tube containing water, and recording the temperature change. The cheesy puffs produced the biggest flames and heated the water the most, suggesting they contain the most energy!" ~ Ms Smith
🗣️ "Harin in Year 3 served as Head for the day! He led our whole school assembly, judged the talent show auditions, and ran the polling station for our General Election. Well done, Harin; you did a superb job!" ~ Mr Smith
🎂 We celebrated Mr Freitag's 80th birthday during the morning assembly!
Mr Freitag has been a valuable member of the Homefield family for 15 years, serving as a dedicated gardener and a member of our estate team. Happy Birthday! Here’s to many more years of health and happiness!
🗣️ "General Election Day! Year 8 created a manifesto and pitched it to the whole school, as if they were running in the upcoming General Election. Their campaigns were a huge success, with the difference between 1st and 3rd place being just 35 votes out of a total of 274 votes. The Hope Party received 26% of the votes, the Movement Party 35%, and the winners were the National Unity Party with 39%. Well done, Year 8!" ~ Mr Smith
⛵ "Christopher, Ethan, and Yuvi have been so captivated by the Vikings topic in history that they have used the last week in form time to make their own Viking longship from origami! Excellent team effort, boys!" ~ Ms Alcobia
📺 "Year 3 wrote their own scripts in English about a breaking news story and performed their pieces to the class! They showed great confidence and skill with the words they chose to convey their news story- they even made their own microphones!🎤" ~ Miss Finch
🏅 Our boys in the Lower School had a fantastic time during our Lower School Sports Day! They took part in obstacle races, hurdles, sprinting, and relay races. The day was not only filled with competition but also with teamwork and support for friends and peers. Well done to all of our boys!
Subject Summaries
Art & DT: Boys are now starting to take their artwork/DT work home. Well done to all who have finished, but don't worry if you haven't; some still have one double lesson left to complete their work. A particular well done to Year 4 for some excellent picture frames.
Computing: The boys have been working hard to finish their Computing projects. Across the school, they have been coding in both block-based formats and traditional scripting in four different languages. If they are not coding, the boys are learning about communicating via podcasts, blogs, and desktop publishing.
English: As the holidays approach, the boys across the Upper School have been refining, consolidating, and securing their English skills in both creative writing and critical analysis. The boys have worked very hard this year, and we are incredibly proud of their work ethic, effort, and attainment in the subject.
French: In the MFL department, Year 3 and Year 4 were excited to received letters from the pupils at Robin Hood Junior School. The introductory letters are in Spanish and they have attached posters to help teach the boys the colours in Spanish as well. This week, the boys will reply in French and teach the boys down the road about colours in French, sharing their recently learnt understanding of how the spellings of adjectives can change depending on the gender of the noun. Meanwhile the other Upper School boys have spent some time revising vocabulary and their tenses by playing old classics such as Battleships, a fun way to embed new vocabulary whilst having a lot of fun at the same time!
Geography: This academic year, each of the boys has worked incredibly hard to develop their knowledge and understanding about the world around them. Year 3 has learned all about human and physical features, map reading, as well as environment and sustainability. Year 4 has focused on map reading skills, settlements, and all things tectonic! Year 5 has learned about climate zones, biomes, deforestation, global warming, development, and rivers. Year 6 has learned about industry, development, weather, climate, and all things coastal! Year 7 has been enhancing their knowledge about tectonics, population, development, rivers, and the environment. Year 8 has enjoyed their fieldwork trip and revisited various topics. Well done to everyone for another fabulous year of learning, questioning, debate, and enquiry!
History: Year 3 has been discovering interesting (and gruesome) facts about Celtic warriors, while Year 4 has explored why King Alfred was called 'The Great' when he went up against the Vikings!
In Year 5, we were excited to discover that James Kodikara-Bowles and Maximilian von Bezing's Maya death masks have been displayed on Dr. Diane's website. If you'd like to take a look, please follow this link: Maya Music and Materials. Year 6 has been investigating primary sources about the end of British rule in India.
Maths: The Upper Prep School boys have continued to deepen their understanding of position and direction, translations, calculating angles within regular polygons, and solving algebraic expressions across the transversal line. All boys have had a fantastic year and have worked exceptionally hard. They should be proud of their individual progress. Congratulations to all boys who achieved Merit in the UKMT Junior Kangaroo 2024. Well done to Arnav from 5H who achieved best in school and Zaiden in Year 7 who achieved best in year.
P.E. & Games: On Friday, 21st June, Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 competed in a festival of sport at the Lower School Sports Day. The boys enjoyed traditional sports day events mixed with athletics they will see in the Olympics this year. The Olympic spirit was all around as parents, grandparents, and guardians reveled in the sports on display. All the boys did their houses proud, and in the relay, honours were shared for the first time as Bomfords and Grays had equal points, raising the trophy dating back to 1934 together. The overall winners were Bomfords, who narrowly beat Walfords in the last round of events.
On Thursday, 20th June, the U13 first cricket team played a match against the staff. It was a wonderful event, and all the boys thoroughly enjoyed bowling at the teachers who have set them homework all year! The staff team were victorious as Mr McCaffery and Mr Hartley put on a 90-run partnership, and Mr Naismith hit the winning runs. Also in cricket, the Year 3 Red team beat Surbiton to complete an extraordinary unbeaten season, a feat not accomplished by a Year 3 cohort in ten years.
On Monday, 1st July, the Senior School boys will have their sports day, and they have been preparing in lessons to ensure their House wins the trophy. We wish all the boys a happy, healthy, and sporting summer ahead and hope they enjoy Wimbledon, the Euros, and of course, the Olympics.
Science: Year 3 are finishing their rocks and soils unit before moving on to classification. Year 4 have completed their work on food and digestion and are about to look at classification keys. Year 5 have been learning about the properties of materials or continuing with the solar system, covering day, night, seasons, and the phases of the moon. Year 6 are ending the year learning about the human reproductive systems. Year 7 completed an end-of-year exam and have been continuing with their ecology unit, learning about sampling living things in their natural habitats and the carbon cycle. Year 8 have had a post-exam treat with STEAM-focused lessons with Miss Larkin, where they have been designing and building rocket cars.
STEAM: The boys have been finishing various projects and evaluating their success. In Year 1, the polytunnels are finished, and the boys have been introduced to Marty the Robot. Year 2 have completed their Crest Awards. Year 3 have worked hard to finish their models, and Year 4 has enjoyed evaluating each other's games. Year 5 have continued their STEAM carousel, and Year 6 has finished learning about the theories of evolution. Year 8 have enjoyed making model cars from styrofoam and hope to race them next week.
TPR: In Year 1, the boys have been completing their learning about various celebrations in different faiths. They have been reflecting on the importance and value of these celebrations in believers' lives. In Year 2, the boys have been reflecting on their learning about places of worship and comparing the similarities and differences between them. Year 3 have been creating a game based on a religion of their choice to recap their learning in TPR (Theology, Philosophy, and Religion) so far. Year 4 have been debating whether animals should have rights and considering the possible consequences. Year 5 have been exploring the difference between sanctity of life and quality of life.
Year 7 have been debating the role of prisons in society.
Lower School Summary
Reception
We can't believe that the year has already come to an end. The boys have done incredibly well. They have made some wonderful friends, and we have shared so many lovely moments together. Looking back on the year, we have experienced so much: a trip to find the Gruffalo, our first Christmas performance, book looks, a visit from the firemen, parents' play sessions, a farm trip, sports day, and next week will be prize-giving. It has been a true pleasure to be a part of their first year at Homefield, and we wish them all the luck in the world as they move up to Year 1.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been preparing the boys for their move to Year 1. We have been talking about what might be new and how we might feel about leaving Reception. We have read stories such as 'The Lion Inside', 'The Very Impatient Caterpillar', and 'What Will I Be?' All of these stories have helped the boys understand their emotions and how we can be brave as we move on to something new. The boys have also had lots of fun going on treasure hunts around the school, helping them to familiarise themselves with some places around the school that they may not have been to yet. Looking back over the last couple of weeks, we have a feeling that the boys are going to love being in Year 1 and will do amazingly well.
Year 1
Year 1 has had a fantastic final couple of weeks of the year and has been very busy. We continued our learning of time, famous queens, and plants from around the world, and gave our all at the Lower School Sports Day. The boys demonstrated resilience, perseverance, and sportsmanship, and we are all proud of their effort and achievements.
The boys displayed exemplary behaviour on our trip to Hever Castle and represented the attributes of a Homefield boy well. Thank you to all the parents who attended the Parent-Teacher Consultations this week; we hope you found it a useful way to end the year and discuss the progress that has been made. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and boys for their hard work and support this year. It has been a pleasure teaching your boys, and we wish you all a wonderful summer break. We look forward to celebrating the boys at Lower School Prize Giving on Wednesday at 2.30 pm.
Year 2
Year 2 has enjoyed spending these last few weeks preparing for their transition into Upper School! The boys have continued to deepen their understanding of position and direction, oceans around the world, the importance of being a modern-day change maker, and exploring fables, biographies, and autobiographies. Year 2 had a fantastic time on Sports Day and thoroughly enjoyed competing in various events. The boys in Year 2 did themselves proud when performing to the Lower School this week in their summer performance of 'Save Our Planet'. It was great to see them showcase their acting and performance skills to our younger boys.
Thank you to all the parents of our Year 2 boys for your continued support this past academic year. We look forward to seeing the boys flourish as they move into Year 3!
Homefield Heroes
Reception: In RS, Shrey for independently using split digraphs in his Literacy work. Shaan for having such an incredible first term at Homefield.Ethan, for working hard in all areas of his learning and being kind to his friends and Aadit, for playing nicely with his friends and working hard in his maths.
Year 1: In 1H, Bertie for phenomenal engagement and participation with questions on our school trip to Hever Castle. Theo, for a phenomenal amount of effort in the final full week of Year 1. Bernardo for making choices and decisions conscientiously resulting in a positive week.
In 1S, Freddie for his enthusiasm and great knowledge on our trip to Hever Castle and Ariz for demonstrating our Homefield Values well every day.
Year 2: In 2H, Iniyan for persevering when completing tasks in lessons and working particularly hard in maths lessons. Ben, for making insightful contributions in lessons and showing enthusiasm towards his learning. In 2S, Andrew for exemplifying homefield values in all he does. Lavann, for showing passion in his learning and always wanting to branch out and learn new things
Year 3: In 3H, Kiran for amazing cricket playing in the Year 4 team, and Kaan for a great week demonstrating Homefield values and a growing maturity. In 3S, Mirsub for his outstanding and consistent contribution to music lessons and groups, and Aaron for an excellent week of English learning.
Year 4: In 4H, Jai for his outstanding and consistent contribution to music lessons and groups and Isaac for improved focus and contributions in French lessons. In 4S, Ted for excellent effort and engagement in science and maths lessons, and Jaydon for a fantastic contribution to the Science Society this year.
Year 5: In 5H and 5S, Dhanesh and Evan for an incredible effort in his history homework creating Maya board games which they shared with Mr Naismith. In 5P, Advik for his hard work and resilience with maths challenges!
Year 6: The whole of Year 6 deserves a special mention this week for their incredible production of Peter Pan. Such a lot of time, hard work and enthusiasm went into it. What a triumph! In 6H, Akesh showed an incredible effort in his history homework creating a board game that teaches players about the British Empire.
Year 7: Well done to Year 7 for their efforts in the 800m running session. They gave it their all, with some clocking some impressive times.
Year 8: Well done to Year 8 for their conduct, behaviour and enthusiasm during their trip to The Light in Redhill, followed by lunch at Pizza Express. They all deserve a Head of Year commendation this week as the staff at The Light and Pizza Express commented on how polite and respectful they were to them.
Artwork of the Week
Ted - Handmade picture frame
Well done to Ted in Year 4, who completed a handmade picture frame and then placed his own artwork inside of it!
Innovation in English and Drama
The English and Drama Department is excited to trial a number of new and forward-thinking initiatives in the Upper School from the autumn term. September will see the launch of daily handwriting, grammar and spelling practice in short, sharp bursts: research has shown that this approach and structure has a beneficial impact on the attainment and development of SPAG and we hope to see the boys’ confidence flourish under this new scheme.
Mrs Auty has also been working on a project relating to pupil choice, with reference to the ‘Heads, Hearts and Hands’ values that underpin learning at Homefield. The boys involved in this trial have responded positively and enthusiastically, and we are looking to expand this teaching and learning opportunity to neighbouring departments over the coming months.
Our Year 5 cohort will remain in two form groups next year, but will initially split into three teaching groups for English (and maths.) The boys will be placed in ‘dynamic groups’, carefully curated to ensure that the learning and teaching is best suited to support the needs of individuals, whilst challenging their current understanding.
The English curriculum has been refreshed and reimagined, to ensure our pedagogy remains contemporary, aspirational and engaging. Mrs Auty is also thrilled to be teaching specialist drama lessons to all of the boys in Years 3-8 next year in a drama studio adjacent to the performance hall. We hope to continue to grow the drama side of the department, resulting in high-quality shows and exciting performance opportunities for all the boys in the school over the coming years.
We are delighted with the initiatives that will be launched later this year: our main goal is to foster a genuine love of both literature and the performing arts for all the boys – a challenge that we are eager to undertake!
Mrs Auty
Teddy Bear's Picnic | Early Years
Learning Resources Centre
The LRC has been extremely busy this academic year: we have loaned out a total of 8,855 books since September with Year 5 borrowing the most at 2,047! Well done, boys. I want to say a big thank you to the student librarians Aaden, Ashar, Kaiyan, Luke, Zachy and Yiannis who have given up lunch times to read to the Reception classes and also assisted at the Book Fair.
Author, Margaret Bateson-Hill, visited the whole school sharing snippets of her dragon book series “Dragon Racer”. She also demonstrated some Chinese cutting techniques which had the boys mesmerised.
The LRC welcomes boys from Years 2 - 8 to visit at either break or lunch to play a variety of games; Uno, top trumps, pop-up pirates, chess or even battleships.
Do please ensure that you return all library books before the summer break begins.
Happy reading!
Mrs S Edwards
Common Entrance Success
Following the recent Common Entrance examinations taken by boys in Year 8, we are pleased to announce these outstanding results. Well done, boys!
100% A*-C in Core Subjects
100% A-A* in English
73% A-A* in Maths
63% achieved A-A* across ALL core subjects (English, Maths and Science)
Taekwondo Gold Medal Success
Bhavnish in Year 3, recently won a gold medal for sparring in the Under 13 Taekwondo Championships. He has another open championship competition this weekend - we wish him luck!
Music Award Success
Congratulations to Mirsub in Year 3 for achieving a Merit in his Entry Level Award in Graded Examination in Music Performance (Entry 3) from Trinity College London!
Parent Questionnaire
We would appreciate parents completing the parent questionnaire that went live last week.
https://form.jotform.com/240594424978368
May we please have responses recorded by Monday 1st July, as we are looking for parental input to our 'Homefield Values'.
Registration for Eton
A note to parents that the deadline for registering for entry to Eton in 2027 is the 30th June 2024. Please click on the link below for the application form:
Clubs Information
The last day of all school clubs is Friday 28th June. From 1st - 3rd July, there will be no after school staff or peri-run clubs.
From 1st - 3rd July, wraparound care will still run. Breakfast Club and Morning Sports and Activities Club will take place before school, and Orchard Childcare will take place after school. Book via https://homefield.schoolcloud.co.uk/ and https://www.orchardchildcare.co.uk/Homefield-Prep-school
Boys must be registered before attending Orchard Childcare, so please register in advance should you need arrangements for the Parent Teacher Consultation days (or any other) at https://www.orchardchildcare.co.uk/Homefield-Prep-school
Orchard Childcare
If you would like to enrol your son into Orchard Childcare, please visit:
https://www.homefield.sutton.sch.uk/school-life/wraparoundcare
The Homefield Association Summer Fair
Homefield Parents' Association
Volunteers Needed for Homefield Association Summer Fair
The Homefield Association is excited to host the Summer Fair on Saturday, June 29th, from 12:00pm to 2.00pm. This event is a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together, have fun, and raise funds. To make this event successful, we urgently need volunteers.
Whether you can help on the day or assist with preparations in the weeks leading up to it, your time and effort will be highly valued.
To volunteer please contact the Homefield Association: homefieldassociation@hotmail.co.uk
Let's Leap Sports Academy
Exciting news awaits! Get ready for an unforgettable adventure this school holiday as Let's Leap launches an exciting holiday camp for six weeks, starting on Monday, 8th July - Friday, 16th August 2024.
Let's Leap invites you to join the excitement at our renowned holiday camps, conveniently located in your child's secure school - Homefield Prep!
Discover a diverse array of thrilling activities tailored to suit every interest. Experience the wonder of Animal Shows, the exhilaration of Electric Segway Go-karting, the thrill of Fencing, and the fun of Zorb Football.
But that's not all! Dive into the excitement of Archery, conquer our Inflatable Obstacle Courses, engage in dynamic multi-sports like Kin Ball, or indulge in some friendly competition with Nerf Tag. And for the creative campers, our Arts & Crafts sessions are sure to spark imagination and delight.
At Let's Leap, we're more than just childcare; we're a hub for growth, learning, and confidence-building. Our carefully curated activities ensure that children remain engaged, active, and beaming with joy throughout the week.
With flexible attendance options from 8:00am - 6:00pm to accommodate your busy schedule, including single-day or full-week bookings, standard and extended day choices, and fantastic discounts for siblings and weekly bookings, Let's Leap makes it easy to join in on the fun!
Secure your child's spot now for an unforgettable school holiday adventure brimming with excitement, learning, and adventure!
Western Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2TE
+44 020 8642 0965