December 18th 2014
The alliteration fairy was able to take up residence at Newton Prep this Christmas, with its kaleidoscope of Christmas trees, cacophony of colour, carousel of carols and crowds of cute kids! (And now we will ask the alliteration fairy to leave...). Mr Peckham's Music Department worked incredibly hard, as did each Lower School class teacher; the parents were no slackers, both in the costume-making and the attendance department. But, as ever, the true Christmas stars were the children themselves: a lot of hard work went into learning lines, practising solos, fine-tuning musical performances...
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 | The Lower School nativity plays were a triumph this year. Armed by the prompting of Miss Betty and Miss Faye, Nursery gave us a clever take on a festive I Spy. Reception brought us a perfectly-mastered Humph the Camel, while Year One's Stable Story came complete with soloists and a menagerie of performing animals. Finally, Year Two's witty slant on the more traditional nativity story gave us some unforgettable performances, especially from Herod and his henchmen! At all performances, the parent-paparazzi were out in force: quite right, too, for all these stars! |
Christmas kicked off in style with the Christmas Concert: brass explosions, a bravura performance from the combined choirs, of the Newton Forum favourite mash-up, "Eleanor Rigby/Another Brick in the Wall" and some popular arrangements of festive favourites from Mr Peckham. "The children were clearly having just so much fun," commented one parent. "It was a joy to see - and to listen to, obviously!" |  |
The Fair was a great success, raising around £7,000 for the Newton Scholarship Fund. Newton's Junior Entrepreneurs Scheme was embraced with enthusiasm by a raft of bright, young businesspeople and the raffle was a raucous success. We just won' t mention the sausages running out... | |
Christmas just isn't Christmas without a Carol Service... and this year, Newton delivered the full monty, courtesy of a full St Mary's Battersea, the stunning riverside church painted from by Turner and married in by William Blake. Mr Peckham, Miss Hayward and their choirs sang beautifully, with lessons read by all ages, from Jasmine V and John M in Year 3, right up to the Chairman, Dr Walji. "It was a lovely night," said one parent. "The perfect length and a great mix of the holy and the entertaining!" |
