26^th September 2008

Dear Parents,

National Book Week this year falls between 6^th-10^th October. WHS will be celebrating books and reading with a Book Fair in school all week. This will be held, as usual, in the Hall, with parents from the ‘Hippos’ group kindly running the administration and payment system. Upper School children attend the Book Fair without their parents, so we feel it is fair to you to impose a limit of £12 on their spending. To simplify the procedure as far as possible, we suggest that children may be allowed to spend up to £12 on books of their choice. However, if you feel that you would like your child to be given a different spending limit – either higher or lower – please e-mail me and I will organise it accordingly. Pre-Prep children will continue to visit the Book Fair with their parents after school (3.45-4.15) so there need be no limit on their spending!

We also hope to be entertaining a poet - James Armitage - in school on Monday 6^th October. He will open Book Week with an assembly and then will conduct writing workshops with children in Years 5-8 during their English lessons. Later in the week, a storyteller – Xanthe Gresham – will entertain children from Pre-Prep and Years 3 & 4. You will not be charged for these speakers.

Children in Pre-Prep will also dress up as their favourite book characters during the week. More details about Book Week in Pre-Prep will be supplied separately.

Author visit: G.P. Taylor: Thursday 6^th November

As stated in the calendar, G.P. Taylor, author of ‘Shadowmancer’ and other children’s novels, will visit the children to speak to children in Years 5-8 on Thursday 6^th November.

Poetry recitation/Public Speaking competition Thursday 20^th November 7pm

Every child in Years 3, 4, 6 and 7 will choose a poem in an English lesson prior to half-term. Children in Year 5 will perform choral performance poetry in house groups. Those in Year 8 will prepare speeches. They will be encouraged to learn their poem by heart and all children need to practise performing over half-term. The first round of the poetry recitation competition will be held during lessons in the week immediately after half-term. Five or six children from each year group will be put through to the final ‘showcase’ evening held on Thursday 20^th November at 7pm. (Names of finalists will be posted on the website by Saturday 15^th November). Christopher Ellott, Head of English at Radley, has kindly agreed to adjudicate on the evening of the final. (As this competition is compatible with the poetry recitation competition currently being organised by the BBC, we may be able to send one finalist from either Year 4 or Year 6 through to the BBC area final).

NB All children in Year 5 will be performing in the final ‘showcase’ evening on 20^th November, which starts at 7pm and will finish around 9pm

Theatre trips for different year groups have also been organised over the next few months and you will receive details in separate letters, so, as you can see, it will be a busy term! If you have any questions or concerns about anything in this letter, please do contact me on clare.lynas@winchester-house.org or by telephone via the school office.

With very best wishes

Yours sincerely

Clare Lynas

Head of English/Head of Year 8