Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Clubs Bookclub A chance for a small group of keen readers to read and get together once a week to talk about books, especially ones that we may not normally choose. Unusual, lesser known books work best, so no ultra-popular authors like Jacqueline Wilson or David Walliams feature! There is no pressure to read the books quickly as reading for pleasure is the main focus of the group. We can take 4 weeks + to read the books and we then examine the big questions and themes explored. This year’s bookclub was made up of both boys and girls from Years 5 and 6 and they were extremely good at discussion. Reading is a solitary activity but when a book has moved or stimulated you it’s natural to want to discuss it with someone else. A bookclub gives us that opportunity and encourages us to think a bit more about the books we read - why we like some, dislike others and what makes the difference. It was a real pleasure spending Tuesday evenings with the Bookclub of 2016/17 and I will miss them terribly. I hope reading for pleasure will remain important to them during the next stage of their lives. Mrs Pike Chess Club Chess has been an area of excellence this year and we are proud to say that the Essex County Team contains no less than five Brentwood Prep players. We can also claim to be one of the top ten chess schools in the country after a brilliant weekend of competition at Camber Sands. Our very own tournament was won by Jake Horton in year five and we do believe that the future of chess is very bright indeed with Nina Pert in year four becoming national champion at both U8 and U9. Well done to all. 39 Brentwood School Preparatory Knitting Club The Prep Knitting Club meets in the DT Room on Wednesday lunchtimes. We are a calm, chilled-out club and love to use our new skills to make presents for people. Our big project this year was to make a cushion for Mrs Davies, the Sister in the Senior School Sanatorium. (Last year we had presented the Prep School Matron with a very colourful blanket for her room.) We enjoyed crafting our patchwork squares out of a variety of different wools, seeing how many colours and textures we could find. Thanks to Mrs Sheridan’s clever crochet hook, our squares were transformed into a beautiful cushion which we presented to Mrs Davies. She was so surprised! Who will we be making a present for next year..? Mrs Corp Jazz Club We are the Champions! Again! For the 4th year running Lucy Pohl’s Jazz Club have won their section at the Epping Forest Dance Festival. The Jazz club performed their dance ‘SAX’ with such energy and enthusiasm, made sure they stayed in time, kept in their lines and looked fabulous. It was impossible for the adjudicator not to award them 1st place! Not only did they win their section but they were also awarded a fabulous 3rd with their dance ‘Walking on Sunshine’. Each dancer gave up their Monday lunchtimes to attend additional rehearsals and all their hard work and dedication paid off. Well done to all the dancers: ORLA BRODERICK • EMELIA CLEVERLEY • SOPHIE COOKE • CHLOE DEWER • IMOGEN EASTWOOD • LUCY GOUGH • EDIE GRIFFITHS • ABIGAIL HONISET • OLIVIA-BEAU JENKINS • SID JOHNSON • JESSICA KRIEL • ABIGAIL LOVEYS • SAMIHA MARICAR • AMELIA SOUTHGATE Let’s make it 5 years running next year. By Lucy Pohl