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autumn 2016
Mother Duck
Miss Kay Perkins
retired at the end of 2015 after a 15-year journey at Ruyton.
Kay began working at ‘Little Ruyton’ in the Girls’ Pre Prep programme, which
was part of Little Ruyton House on Wellington Street. During her time at both
‘Little Ruyton’ and now Ruyton Early Learning, Kay assisted in our four-year
old programmes, as well as being a lead-teacher during holiday programmes.
For many years Kay also contributed her knowledge of children’s gross motor
and brain development by running the GMP or Gross Motor Programme,
which was a part of the Early Learning specialist programmes for over ten
years. Her colleagues saw Kay as an experienced teacher full of wisdom who
always had a calm and reassuring approach with the children in her care. Her
love of the outdoors and the natural world has always been evident in her
work with the children. During holiday programmes it was a common
occurrence to see the children exploring the School grounds for extended
amounts of time with her. She was like a mother duck with her ducklings, as
the children followed Kay around the School on foot and on their tricycles!
They would come back to the playroom brimming with excitement over the
many natural treasures they had found along the way: autumn leaves, seed
pods and flowers, to name but a few! On behalf of everyone at Ruyton and in
particular, Ruyton Early Learning, we wish Kay all the best for her retirement
and thank her for her enormous contribution to the School.
Ms Karina Buttler,
(Director of Early Learning – Maternity Leave 2016.)
Seriously, Science?
Science is an important aspect of the children’s learning and is a vital
component of the Pre Prep programme. From their early years children
view their world as a place of wonder and one to explore. Connecting
with science allows the children to use their curiosity to extend their
ideas, test out their theories, solve problems and transfer their learning
from one situation to another. In Early Learning the children are actively
involved with science through cooking experiences, experiments, visual
arts and outdoor learning. For instance, cooking with young children is
an enjoyable way for them to learn fundamental science concepts, such
as what occurs when matter is changed through mixing, heating and
cooling. Making a batch of pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday allowed
the children to predict what would happen when they mixed ingredients,
and then helped cook them to produce a tasty treat. Science is seriously
great fun!
Au Revoir
Mme Francoise Foster
taught French to the children in Early Learning
for 13 years, coming in for two hours every week. She introduced the
French language to the children, who responded well to her
engaging teaching style. We shall miss her and wish her well for her
next adventures.