Celebrating theatre adventures and getting ready for Chinese New Year
Dear Parents,
The Gruffalo’s Child
Our Year 1 and Reception children headed off to the theatre last week to see The Gruffalo’s Child. The children were wonderfully engaged from start to finish, recognising the characters, anticipating the scenes, and joining in with favourite lines from the story.
It was a visit full of wonder, confidence, and lots of fun! A heartfelt thank‑you to the parent volunteers who accompanied the trip and helped make the experience smooth and memorable. What an amazing morning!
Building Excitement for The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In anticipation for their visit, our Nursery children have been diving into story The Very Hungry Caterpillar. After listening to the story, the children worked in small groups to sequence the story—a hands-on activity that strengthens comprehension, recall, and collaborative problem-solving.
Theatre experiences for our youngest learners
Theatre experiences are a powerful experience for supporting early learning: hearing expressive dialogue and clear story structure boosts vocabulary, narration, and recall; live performance invites sustained attention, listening, and self regulation; shared stories help children recognise feelings, and discuss characters; the colour, sound, and movement on stage spark imagination and inspire pretend play and storytelling back at school; and the trips naturally connect learning across different areas of learning—from sequencing, pattern, and rhythm to arts appreciation and community awareness as children navigate buses, theatres, and shared spaces respectfully.
Across the Campus: Preparing for Chinese New Year 新年快乐!
In our Chinese classes, all the children are getting ready for Chinese New Year. They are singing ‘Gōngxǐ gōngxǐ’, practising festive greetings—恭喜恭喜 (Congratulations) and 身体健康 (Wishing you good health)—and learning about 红包 (hóngbāo/red envelopes) and the etiquette around giving and receiving.
The children have been practising calligraphy and helping to make bright decorations for our Assembly space, ready for our celebrations. We can’t wait to welcome the Lion Dance (舞狮 / wǔshī) which always is a firm favourite with the children.
Key Dates
Looking Ahead
