I’m in my last term in Year 6. I am so excited to be going to my new secondary school where I will make new friends and start a new adventure but I am also sad to be leaving St Christopher’s. I have been here since Pre School and it is such a warm and cosy place where I feel so safe, happy and secure; I don’t want to leave!
The gate opens at 8.15am and I join my friends in the Lower School Playground where I have some time to catch up with my friends. The bell rings at 8.30am when we have to line up as a class and then our teacher comes to collect us and escort us into school.
After handing my phone into the office for safe keeping, (I’m walking home today in preparation for year 7), I walk sensibly to our cloakroom and hang up my blazer and leave my Games bag and backpack, take out my water bottle and pencil case before heading into the classroom for form time.
My teacher tells me what is happening for the day and I have time to hand in my homework and reading record, any match or trip slips that I have before sitting down at my desk and preparing for the day. We often have an early morning quiz as well as registration.
At 8.45am it is time to line up for assembly quietly in the corridor before going into the Hall in silence, ready for our whole school assembly. We are allowed to sit on the benches in Year 6, it’s one of the perks, everyone else has to sit on the floor! I recognise the piece of Music playing as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Mr Carter welcomes us as a whole school, including our Preschool and then proceeds to start his Friday Celebration Assembly. Each person in a class is nominated for something that they have stood out for that week and is given a special sticker. Last Wednesday we had a visiting Head from a secondary school whose assembly was about Resilience and our Phase assembly last Tuesday was about Teamwork; two of our important school Character Values.
After assembly finishes at 9.00am, we return to class for a morning of lessons until 11 o’clock. Today is my favourite day- we have French and Computing with our Specialist teachers and Games this afternoon as well as our usual daily English and Maths and lessons. Break time soon comes and I rush out to the Prep playground, remembering to take the First Aid bag and walkie talkie as I am the monitor today. A poor Year 3 child bumped their head and had to have a red band around their wrist so their teacher and parent know they had a head injury.
After we have put all the toys away and lined up in our classes ready to be led into school by our teachers, we have some more lessons starting at 11.20am before our one hour lunch break between 1 and 2pm.
I am allowed to go straight into lunch today rather than wait for my year group to be called in as I have Chess club at 1.30pm . We also have Musical Production, Acro and Dance amongst other lunchtime clubs. I can’t decide what to have for lunch today, there is such a wide choice! A selection of hot dishes, including a jacket potato and beans, soup on some days and a wide selection from the salad bar. I collect my cutlery before sitting at one of the lunch tables. On all the tables, we have bread and a plate of crudite with a choice of dessert and jugs of water. (Today it is Friday so we have juice!) After enjoying socialising with some of my friends, I scrape my plate and clear my cutlery and cup away in the boxes provided and say ‘thank you’ to the dinner ladies before going to my club.
After lunch, we begin lessons again at 2pm. I love this time after lunch: we all have a silent reading or handwriting session throughout the Prep School- you can hear a pin drop!
Once we have finished reading, we enjoy our afternoon lessons until 3.20pm. I particularly enjoy Wednesdays when the whole of the Prep School attend a choice of afternoon club run by different teachers; we can choose from a variety of clubs that are of a subject not on the curriculum.
Friday afternoons are great as we have Games where we take part in co-educational sports depending on the time of year. Autumn Term is Rugby and Netball; Spring Term is Hockey and Football and Summer Term is Athletics and Cricket. We also have a PE lesson where we focus on Dance, Gymnastics, Basketball and Swimming one term during the year too.
At the end of the day at 3.20pm we have a class story where we are read to by our class teacher who chooses their favourite book. One term during the year, we are also visited by a member of our SLT who read to us too. This afternoon though, as it’s Friday, we have Still Life Drawing; I can’t wait to see what we will be drawing or designing in our sketchbooks today!
At 3.40pm we prepare to go home or to attend an after school club; there are so many to choose from! At 3.45pm we are dismissed from our various exit gates, where we are collected by an adult.
I must remember to collect my phone from the office!
