As part of Alton Convent School's 70th Jubilee celebrations, parents and friends were invited to an evening of art, music and dance. The evening started with a colourful display of Maypole dancing from pupils of year 5 and line dancing from year 6. Parents listened to the many musical solos from senior school girls and watched entranced as Sophie, recently named "Young Dancer of the Year", performed several ballet dances. From the Prep school, Joe impressed fellow pupils and parents alike with his interpretation of Pachelbel's Canon on the electric guitar. Joe, who has his own band, has recently won a musical scholarship to a major public school.

Drama comes in many forms and this year's final GCSE examination performances were no exception! The work was created and performed in five groups. The creative inspiration was a piece of contemporary film music by Craig Armstrong called 'Glasgow*. 'Big Brother's Watching You', a piece about the way we are all being surveyed today; 'Heaven Sent, Hell Bent', a slightly surreal comic play set in Limbo; 'Storm', the toy shop as a microcosm of life today; 'No Man's Land', a view of the world as a totally female society and 'When the Lights Go Out'.

As you will be aware, this year's Ball is now a mere two weeks away and looks set to be a truly spectacular event! One of the most popular parts of the evening is, of course, the Grand Auction. As in previous years this will comprise two parts - one silent and one live. We have been extremely fortunate once again in securing some fantastic lots of a very varied nature. Whether you hanker after a week in the sun or an evening of classic jazz, a signed Arsenal shirt or a day of pampering at a luxury Spa, I urge you to check out what's on offer! For those unable to attend the event (or for those who can't resist a preview), all the auction listings are available to view on the school's web-site and can be accessed at www.altonconvent.org.uk/silentauction08 for the silent auction or www.altonconvent.org.uk/liveauction08 for the live auction.

Last week’s Prep School literary festival passed very well. It has been a real pleasure to hear pupils in Years 4 to 6 getting to grips with Shakespeare, from the Dream to Romeo and Juliet, with a little Hamlet along the way. We continue to raise the profile of reading, with a few posters from the National Literacy Trust’s “Reading Champions” campaign up around the school - I’d encourage you to take some time over the long bank holiday weekend to not only listen to your child read, but also let them listen to you read, and perhaps chat a bit about your favourite books, now and in the past. Mrs Wilding’s book fair proved very popular, and I’d like to record my thanks to her for the extra time she spent away from writing and researching to run this; we are very fortunate to have her expertise on hand, and if your son or daughter is ever lost for ideas of what to read next, a visit to our Prep School library would be highly recommended. We were pleased to welcome two librarians from Alton to the Lower Prep last week, and we’ve been invited to display some of our pupils’ work in the library next month; encouraging your child to make use of the local library can do much to promote a love of reading, as well as independent learning.

This term has started well, with our new themes and topics generating great enthusiasm amongst children and staff alike. Reception have been finding out about what plants need to live and grow; and have been enjoying weekly stories, practical investigation and hands on exploration. The outdoor area has been transformed with the addition of numerous pots and plants, whilst the indoor flower shop role play area allows the children to develop their creative and imaginative talents! We are currently having a bean stalk competition to see who can grow the tallest beanstalk, and the children have written some imaginative stories about where this beanstalk may lead! Nursery and Pre-Prep have been looking at animals and have recently created a wonderful Noah’s Ark display, which seems particularly appropriate given the current weather! Their wonderful creations explore lots of different habitats and animal types, and the children are particularly excited about what they have been learning, as many are able to relate it to their own ideas and experiences.

Year 4 spent a brilliant day at Hampton Court Palace on Wednesday as part of their study of the Tudors. Despite the weather the class's first impressions of the palace were very positive, with many overwhelmed by the scale of this great Tudor building. We were met at the Buttery stairs by the mistress of the wardrobe, who regaled us with insider gossip of the King and his many marriages as we sat entranced in the wine cellar, before taking us up to explore the Great Hall itself, with its magnificent tapestries and stained glass.

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

Pupils in Reception, Years 1 and 2 enjoyed a visit from two Alton librarians on Thursday 24th April. They brought an exciting collection of books suitable for different ages and interests and also talked about many other items that children may borrow, including DVDs and Play station games.

The special events organised by the Library were also of great interest, and our visitors were very impressed with the show of hands demonstrating children who took part in the Summer Reading Challenge; apparently this year’s challenge will have an Olympic theme.

The UVIth trip to Amsterdam was an unforgettable experience. Once we stepped off the train we were flooded with images of bicycles and trams on the way to our hotel. As it was a late night, we had a good night's sleep and visited the Van Gogh museum in the morning. This took us through a biographical journey of his life showing his interests and family, as well as his artwork. It also involved artists he inspired and those he was inspired by. Much of his work was extremely moving and made a poignant impact on many of us.

Afterwards we took a canal trip basking in the sunshine whilst listening to the running commentary on the history of Amsterdam. During the evening we wandered in the square and admired the sights over dinner.