Since we arrived back at school, refreshed after our first two-week half term break, there have been plenty of activities happening. We have successfully recruited new pupils at our 3+ and 7+ assessments and parents will be interested to know that the number of applications to MTP continues to be extremely high.

We thank Mr McConnell for organising our yearly remembrance service at school, during which all classes and tutor groups laid collective messages of remembrance in our memorial garden. We also thank our School Captain and Vice-Captain for confidently representing MTP at the Remembrance Sunday event at Northwood and it was great to see several other MTP pupils and their families in attendance.

We have had very high level musical recitals at school with an impressive range of instruments and quality of performances.

The finalists in the spelling bees this week have also impressed us with their remarkable spelling knowledge.

This week, both our U12 and U13 teams progressed with ease through to the finals of The Hockey League and we wish these teams the best of luck for the finals next week.

We congratulate the Parents’ Association for their excellent organisation of Fireworks Night and for assisting the MTS Ladies’ Association with their Christmas Fair. It was really pleasing to see the support from MTP families at these events. Finally, we only have three weeks left until the end of term and we are really looking forward to events leading up to Christmas!

Best wishes

Dr. Karen McNerney | Head of School

Monday, 28 November
Y7 NW Subject Parents’ Evening 1730-1930 Dining Hall
Y7/Y8 Table Tennis & Badminton v York House 1600 (h)

Tuesday, 29 November
U12 & U13 THL Hockey Finals (at MTS) 1600
Adult Choir Practice 19:00

Wednesday, 30 November
Merchant Taylors' Governing Body Meeting at MTP

Friday, 2 December
U11ABC Rugby v Berkhamsted (h) 1515

Monday, 5 December
U13A Rugby v St. Martin’s (h) 1430

Tuesday, 6 December
Y3/Y4 House Cross Country 1415
Adult Choir Practice 19:00

Wednesday, 7 December
Christmas Concert 1830 Theatre
Pre-Prep Production (Y1 & Y2) 1400 Theatre

Thursday, 8 December
Nursery & Reception Concert Dress Rehearsal 0930 Theatre
Y3/Y4 House Rugby 1415

Friday, 9 December
U10AB Hockey v St. John’s (h) 1430
U11AB Hockey v St. John’s (a) 1430

Monday, 12 December
Y2 Tag Rugby Tournament 1315
Y4G Final Swimming Session

Tuesday, 13 December
LAMDA Exams
Evening of Poetry & Prose 1630 Theatre

Wednesday, 14 December
Y4M Final Swimming Session
Y7/Y8 House Rugby

Thursday, 15 December
Carol Service Rehearsals

Friday, 16 December
Carol Service at Holy Trinity 1030-1130
Term ends after the Carol Service

Year 8 pupils had Mock exams after half-term with parental feedback at last week’s Parents’ Evenings whilst boys in Year 5 had a recent Personal Tutorial with their tutor. A huge thank you is extended to tutees and their families for their support of Remembrance and Christmas boxes. A record 200 boxes were collected by ‘Link to Hope’ to provide necessities for those less fortunate. Anti-Bullying was the school focus in Week 9 and the spotlight this week has been on Spelling Bees.  Each House has held a Spelling Bee for Y3/4, Y5/6 and Y7/8 and sent their winners to the School ‘Champion of Champions’ Spelling Bees. The Spelling Bee is a school event rather than another House Competition and a highlight of the academic year. A visit by the Chairman of Three Rivers Council, Andrew Scarth, on Visitation Day will take centre stage next week as will the auditioning of readers for our Carol Service. We extend best wishes to our Choirs in preparation for this traditional highlight of the Autumn Term.

House Point king, Raj Shah 8J1, leads the way again on 95 but the House Points competition between the four Houses remains close. With House Cross Country and Spelling Bee competitions upon us and with House Rugby and General Knowledge to follow, the leaderboard can change quickly. Recognition of House Points milestones (Bronze/Silver/Gold Awards) is now done by sticker in the Personal Organiser. Our thanks to Mrs Nye for the new design.  
 

LOST PROPERTY

Beginning on Wednesday 23 November 2016, Mrs Nye will be sorting lost property collected from the sports changing rooms, KS2 & KS3 for years 3-8.

All NAMED property will be returned to its rightful owner.
The remainder will be set out in the old dining hall at lunchtime break on Wednesdays between 1.45 and 2.15pm. This will happen on a weekly basis.

Please encourage your son/s to come and look for lost items.

Always remember BETTER NAMED TO BE RECLAIMED!

Heads of House

Fireworks appeared over MTP on November 3rd. We would like to formally thank the Parents’ Association for the wonderful display and warming refreshments, and to acknowledge the great support from our School’s community.

Remembrance was marked on Friday 11th with a moving service. All boys from Year 1 to Year 8 observed the two-minute silence, and each Form or Tutor Group planted a memorial plaque in The Memorial Garden in remembrance of the fallen from the School, whether former pupils or staff. On Remembrance Sunday, School Captain Harry Williams 8L2 and Vice-Captain Henry Wareing 8W2 proudly represented MTP at the Northwood War Memorial, and laid a wreath on behalf of the School.

13+ and Christmas are coming! At this time of the year, we always think of Year 8 as they start the final leg of their 13+ journey. Their conduct during the recent Mocks was exemplary, and we trust that this experience will set them up for success in January. The hard work really begins now as the last few weeks of preparation often make a real difference. We are very grateful to parents and teachers who sacrifice so much of their time to support the boys. We trust that Year 8 will make the most of the help offered. The Link to Hope Shoebox appeal was another huge success this year with the Prep collecting 139 shoeboxes. These boxes will give cheer to families who otherwise would not receive a gift at Christmas. Thank you parents and boys for your empathy.

Reminder: A gentle reminder that boys may not be left unsupervised at School in the morning before 8am. Any boys found in the Gazebo or around School before this time will be automatically taken to Breakfast Club, and the usual fee charged.  Boys should stay with their parents until 8am, at which time a member of staff comes up to the Car Park and officially opens School.
As it is dark at 5.15pm pick up time, please ensure that you come to the meeting area in person to collect your son. Please remind your boys that they must sign out with the teacher who ran the club which they attended.

Mr M Hibbert | Assistant Head, Mr A Crook | Deputy Head & Mr R Waddington | Director of Studies

In the Manor this month we have continued with our topic ‘Once upon a time’ and we have also been looking at the changes to our environment as the seasons have changed.

In Nursery we all explored the grounds of Merchant Taylors’ School on an Autumn Walk. We searched for signs of Autumn and collected leaves of all different colours. The photographs show all the Nursery boys setting off from the Nursery and a group enjoying the walk.

Robin Class have enjoyed seeing all the changes that are happening in the woods. They have found lots of bare trees to climb and plenty of leaves to dig through.  Kiash Kara, Kiyan Dayal and Aarav Kakaya collaborated like Bertie Bee to dig a big hole. This showed perseverance as well as keeping the boys very warm!

Wren class continued to enjoy learning about their topic of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They persevered and collaborated with Robin class to problem-solve a sudoku puzzle using real-life objects, including wooden spoons, plates and cups. The photograph shows Shaylan Solanki, Nathan Istari, Krrish Patel, Riyen Thakrar, Ryan Virani, Aaryan Brahmbhatt-Patel and Kiaan Kapoor looking proud of their fantastic team work.

Mrs S Funnell | Head of Pre Prep

We have had lots going on in the last couple of weeks including our long awaited walk to the Manor to visit the new Reception classes there. The boys really enjoyed walking along the long drive amid the beautiful Autumn trees and then looking round the beautiful space that the Reception boys enjoy. The photographs show the boys enjoying a snack time in the Robins Class and them all leaving the Manor ready to return to the Prep School.

As part of our topic “Yum, Yum” the boys have been learning about healthy foods including learning about a variety of different fruit and vegetables. Year 2 boys collaborated to prepare and cook vegetable soup which smelled and tasted delicious! The photograph shows Rohin Ghiya and Ruben Rudrakumar enjoying theirs. 
                                                                            
The boys really enjoy their Forest School learning sessions and recently have been delighted to be able to help Mr Ray in the school grounds. They have been helping to harvest the surplus willow from the dome on the field and have learnt to weave some through the structure so that it retains its shape. Mr Ray has been delighted to have such willing assistants and the boys have enjoyed learning how to use tools safely to help maintain our outdoor area. The photograph shows the Puffins with Mr Ray.

Lastly, we were very proud to be part of the school Remembrance Ceremony last Friday and the photograph shows our School Council members placing a message of remembrance on behalf of their class.

Mrs S Funnell | Head of Pre Prep

During the week of the 7th – 11th November 2016 boys from Y6 to Y8 took part in the challenge. The Bebras Computing Challenge introduces computational thinking to students. Congratulations to Max Little 7N1 being the Best in School for the Junior category (10-12 years old) and Ameya Dabral 8W1 the Best in School for the Intermediate (12-14 years old). His experience is explained below.

‘On Friday 18th November, I participated in the national Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. It was my second time taking part, but with a new factor, my transition from Junior to Intermediate. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem much more difficult, but maybe that’s because I had improved my skills.  I was challenged with the obscurest of puzzles. Overall, it was both an interesting, and challenging experience, to say the least.’

Congratulations to all the boys who took part this year.

Mrs B Hibbert | Headof IT

It was a huge pleasure to welcome the Lalani family back to school on Saturday 5th November for the theatre renaming ceremony. Hanif and Sharmin have shown massive support, not only through their leadership of the Parents' Association for a number of years but also through their selfless giving to the 'Act Now' fundraising campaign in 2007.

We were treated to some wonderful music and poetry recital from our pupils as well as a trip down memory lane, via some photos of the theatre development from the archive.

It was a memorable occasion and we will for ever be grateful to the Lalani family for their kind and extraordinarily generous support.

Dr T Lee | Principal, Merchant Taylors' Prep

Congratulations to Oliver Browne 6W1, Fikunmi Olutunbi 6W2 and Luka Hinton 6N2 on representing MTP in a Barbarians side vs Caldicott Prep. Playing with and against some of the most talented players in the local area the boys managed to win 8-7 in a very entertaining game. On the Monday of Rugby Week our U13A side started the week off with another floodlit match on the MTS senior pitch, this time against York House winning 15-0.

As the MTP Sports Department twitter account continues to grow we would like to remind all parents that daily updates on fixtures, house events, PE/Games lessons are given through the account. To follow simply search for @MTSPrepSport on twitter and you will have access to photos from all the events mentioned above, plus our first House Cross Country events around the MTS lakes. Congratulations to Georgios Kyriakou 5J1, Oliver Browne 6W1, and Jonathan Read 8W2 on winning their respective races so far. Year 3 & 4 to go next!

Mr J Denham | Sports Coach

How much sugar is there in 100ml of each of these drinks?

As part of our ongoing unit of work ‘Humans and Other Animals’ the boys in Year 3 under took an excellent investigation into the sugar content of various drinks.  Here are a few photos that capture something of their enjoyment and engagement with the activity.

Mr D Goddard | Form Teacher

October Pupil of the Month – for outstanding achievement in end of topic test
Keshav Soni 3G
Tristan Jassal 4M
Benjamin Ward 5J1
Aarian Malhotra 6W2

November Pupil of the Month – for overall effort and contribution this term
Lokan Bavisi 3S
Vivaan Verma 4G
Felix Regnard – Weinrabe 5J2
Krish Thakrar 6L1

Miss C Burke | KS2 Science Teacher

In Year 3 we learnt about the Romans and how Archaeologists have dug up remains of objects that date back to the Roman times. We decided to do a similar experiment and see what happens if our class buried a box of objects for a whole year. We all brought in different items from home made from various materials such as metal, copper, paper, plastic and food scraps. We each recorded the weather, date and our objects condition when we lowered the box into a large hole in the Woods.

On November 4th 2016 it was 7 months since we had buried the box and it was time to dig it out and reveal our contents to see if they had changed. We dug and dug and dug! Eventually with much excitement we got our hands on our box and carefully carried it over to the Science Lab to investigate what had happened to our items. My nut had a hole in it as if something had nibbled it and my paper had completely gone! We also found worms wiggling among the soil along with a few insects which gave us a clue to how our things had vanished. The archaeological dig was a really fun morning and we learnt a lot about how different materials decompose over time and some don’t! The main message I learnt from this experience is that it is very important to recycle.

Rishaan Khanna Year 4

On Thursday 22nd September, a group of 27 Year Eight students set out on the short walk to Merchant Taylor’s School. We went to listen to a talk by a renowned author, Wendy Holden. She came to talk about her new book, Born Survivors. It is about three pregnant women surviving and giving birth. She brought with her Eva Clarke. Eva was born on a wooden cart outside the gates of a prison camp three weeks before the Holocaust ended. She is one of three survivors to be born in the Holocaust. Eva was here to talk to us about the hardships that her mother endured during the Holocaust and how she gave birth in the unimaginable conditions of the Holocaust.
Eva’s mother Anka was from Prague, now capital of Czech Republic. Hana’s mother Priska was from Bratislava, capital of what is now Slovakia. Mark’s mother Rachel was from a city in central Poland called Lodz.

Wendy’s inspiration for her book was something she saw on the internet a few years ago, she was so intrigued by it that she wanted to find out more. She called up a few people and she was lucky to find that Eva lived only one hour away from her.
On the day of their meeting, Eva said something to Wendy that stuck in my mind;

“She touched my arm and said to me, ‘I’ve been waiting for you for over 70 years.’”

The three mothers went to two concentration camps, the most famous in Auschwitz for selection, and after surviving the selection process, a slave labour factory in Dresden and Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

They all went on a train from Dresden to Mauthausen, and disaster stuck. The journey was meant to be three days long, but the camp they were originally going to was liberated and fourteen days were spent looking for another one, and so it turned into a seventeen day journey. They stopped in a train station and the station master ordered everyone on the train to be given an item of food. Eva said;

“This saved my life and both Mark and Hana’s as well.”

Eva’s own discovery about her mother’s wartime experiences didn't come about until she saw a bag with her mother’s initials, A.N. They were her initials from her marriage to Eva’s father. She told her that she had two fathers. One was killed in the war and now she had another one.

Bit by bit, Anka revealed everything she remembered about her experiences, mixed in with ordinary family stories. Eva said that she thanked her for this, otherwise she wouldn’t have understood it all.

After they grew up, Eva moved to Cardiff. Mark now lives in the USA. His family moved to Israel after the war, but didn’t want Mark to do Army Service, so they moved to the USA. Hana now lives in California.

To conclude the talk, we were then able to ask some questions. One question that stood out for me was, “If you could go back in time and change anything, would you?” Eva answered by saying;

“It's hard to say, because if Hitler wasn’t born, I wouldn't be here.”

Everyone was talking about the talk for the rest of the week. I believe that every boy in Year Eight was very touched and moved by the recount.