Lent Term 2021 No 4

Dear Parents,

It is lovely to be writing to you as week three draws to a close and we are all looking forward to exeat. I know that we are most concerned about how we are ‘health wise’ at school. As I have broadcast up to now it seems that we have a cold doing the rounds. On the whole it does not come with a temperature and we are isolating anyone who is unwell and treating each case individually according to their symptoms, liaising with you and seeking medical advice from our doctor.

We have also been in touch with two other IAPS schools and they too are experiencing the same symptoms. So far those tested for Covid have come back negative both at Pembroke House and at the schools to whom we have spoken.

There is much to report one way or another so I shall give you a quick update.

Games
Our afternoon on the games fields last Friday went very well. The weather was kind and a variety of matches took place, with parents on the side lines enjoying an afternoon of sport in the open air, with plenty of space to distance and keep safe.

Thank You
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bryn and Tara Llewelyn for their very kind gift - a table tennis table for Scholes House. This is so kind and a very generous gift and will allow for many hours of fun in the afternoons and evenings for the girls.

Year 8s and the Aberdare Camping Trip
This was a new initiative and I am most grateful to Mr Aung and Mr Davidson for coming up with such an excellent venue and programme, to help prepare the children for their mountain trip in a few weeks. I do apologise to our Year 8 parents for the short notice and I would like to thank you very much indeed for your understanding and support in helping us get the trip off the ground.

Table Manners
I wonder if we could ask you to support us with a drive on good manners in general, and specifically on table manners. I have worked with our new children in the Junior School and this evening I shall make a start on pupils in the Middle and Senior sections of the school who have yet to receive their ‘Percy Pig’ for their table manners. For your interest, we focus on why we use a knife and fork, how to hold these implements, not talking with a mouth full, how to rest one’s knife and fork between mouthfuls and how to leave one’s knife and fork when the meal is finished. I also talk about the difference between how to manage eating soup and one’s pudding! We also encourage children to take their mouthfuls of food up to their mouth, sitting up nice and straight rather than their mouths to their food at table level! Hopefully between us we will succeed. As you know we really pride ourselves on our manners and we would all like to improve matters here.

Pre Prep Coffee Morning
We look forward to welcoming all our Pre Prep parents tomorrow at the Martlet Cafe for a cup of coffee and a get together to see how things are going. An invitation went out via WhatsApp for 8.30 am, to coincide with drop off. Please do get in touch if you did not receive a message from me. Just a heads up, for this system to work you do need my number in your phone.

Exeat
Exeat officially begins on Friday at 8am. However, local children may leave after lessons at 4pm tomorrow and our buses will leave at 6am on Friday morning to try to get the children home to you for breakfast.

Children should be back in school wearing their whites on Monday 1st February by 10 am. The timings have been arranged to try to ensure the roads are as clear as possible so that everyone’s journey is as safe and easy as possible.

Exeat Trip
As always Miss D has arranged an exeat trip and at the moment she has 20 children spending the long weekend with her and her team. Please do get in touch with Miss D or Terry if you would like your child to join the group.

Miss D hilarydavidson@pembrokehouse.sc.ke Tel: 0715396515
Terry admin@pembrokehouse.sc.ke Tel: 0727 267642

Years 5 & 6 Camping in the Forestry
On Saturday 6th February the children in Years 5 and 6 will camp in the forestry at school and we will then have a day trip to Soysambu on Sunday. Please could you possibly make a note in your diary so that all the Middles can take part and enjoy each other’s company. The children have so much fun camping, with all sorts of fun and games around the campfire, including games of flashlight, baking their own bread and cooking up breakfast. The children will be back early evening on Sunday just in case you might like to whisk them out for the evening and catch up, before school starts on Monday morning. Please do bear this in mind as you make your own plans for the weeks ahead.

Open Day
With all our minds focussed on Covid we feel that it would be a good idea to continue with Google Meets or a Zoom meeting with your child’s tutor to keep you in touch with how they are faring across the board at school. This removes the necessity for you to travel to school and allows us to keep the numbers of visitors and guests at school to a minimum. Of course if you would like a traditional meeting and the virtual option does not work for you then we are happy to make separate individual arrangements to suit you.

Half Term
Half term begins officially at 8 am on Saturday 13th February. Local children may leave after lessons, games and activities at 4 pm on the Friday. Children should return to school by 10 am on Monday 22nd February. The children should return to school in whites.

Half Term Trip
We are aware that with the many Covid protocols of both neighbouring countries and airlines it may be impossible for some children to go home over half term. Miss D has therefore kindly arranged to look after these children over this week’s break. The group will fly to Malindi from Wilson Airport and spend the week at Turtle Bay in Watamu. Please do get in touch with Miss D, as soon as possible, if you would like your child to join this trip.

Miss D hilarydavidson@pembrokehouse.sc.ke Tel: 0715396515
Terry admin@pembrokehouse.sc.ke Tel: 0727 267642

Transport
As always we have school transport on hand to help you out. We have our own buses and shuttle runs, we can arrange taxis with escorts for more individual needs and we can also arrange the flight from Wilson to School and back. Please do get in touch with Terry and let her know how we can help and what arrangements you need to make.

Communication
As most of you know I have a WhatsApp Broadcast group which means I can reach you all very quickly and keep you updated with any happenings or news you need to know. This broadcast group works well and it allows you to reply and keep me abreast of detail and information I should know. The replies are private which I feel is reassuring for us all! However, this system only works if you have my number in your phone. Please could you be very kind and get in touch with me if you feel you are n0t receiving these WhatsApp messages. The last one went out this morning, with the news of the most recent test results, which were negative.

Pembroke Voices
After exeat we will have our first meeting of the term of Pembroke Voices. Each class chooses a representative to bring matters of interest and new ideas to the table. We hope this allows all the children to have a more direct way to make themselves heard. It is also very good practice for the future in thinking, preparing an argument and expressing one’s opinion. New representatives are chosen each term, so the responsibility is shared over time amongst the class.

A Reset
Due to the virus and the guidelines given to us by the Government Departments of Education and Health we have needed to change some of the ways we manage the school day. Other changes have also come about because after such a long time out of school we feel it is the right time to try some new ideas. During our first Prefects’ meeting I asked for some feedback on how the changes had been received. I thought you might be interested and I will give you the comments I received here….
At the moment the children like three lessons before break and three lessons after break.
They like having one prep before lunch.
They like staying class based and having teachers come to them. They felt there was less waiting and the day worked more smoothly.
They liked getting to dorms earlier in the evening. Middle and Senior children now have their 2nd prep whilst the Juniors have supper and then we have Middle and Senior supper. This means the Middles and Seniors get to dorms by about 7.15pm and can then get ready for bed with more time to relax and wind down.
The children seem to like having games on a Friday afternoon.
The Prefects went on to say that they much prefer eating together as a school in the dining room without the staggered meal times that are in place at present. We will of course return to this way of dining as soon as the protocols around Covid can relax.

After the last meeting, and not surprisingly, the Prefects are looking forward to having some inter school competition when this is allowed.
I think this brings us to the end of Letter No 4. As always do not hesitate to reach out with a question or concern. We are very happy to try to help and unless you kindly bring something to our attention we cannot respond and we are somewhat handicapped in trying to help.

Do enjoy our first exeat of the term and I hope your children have much to tell you. Please could you also continue to remain mindful of our collective responsibility to ensure the health of our school so that we can enjoy the term ahead and remain as fit and healthy as possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday.

With very best wishes,

Debs