Prep for the Week Issue | 1798 by Cheltenham College

Prep for the Week Issue Number 1798– 22 May 2015

In this week’s issue… Headmaster’s Blog Kingfishers News Lower School News Year 5 Experience Upper School News Girls' and Boys' Sport

Headmaster Commendations Individual Achievements Clubs Notices Birthday Celebrations The School Week Ahead

The Year 5 Experience Day Our Year 5 children thoroughly enjoyed their day!

Miss S E Ramsay, Head of PE, Swimming and Girls' Sport

TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE PREP PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE Prep for The Week Issue Number 1798– 22 May 2015

Headmaster's Blog Dear Parents

When we return after half-term, although the usual routine of events which characterize the end of a summer term at a busy prep school will take place, some focus shifts to our return to school in September. One area of particular interest to pupils, their parents and staff alike, is the formation of new classes and the allocation of tutors and class teachers to those new groups.

When undertaking this challenging task, the staff stick to some basic guiding principles. 1. A child should be encouraged to develop a wide circle of friends. My best friend is Simon who I met at prep school when I was five. We have known each other for fifty years, ring each other each week and remain great friends even though he lives in Kent. I believe that our friendship has survived because neither of us ever sought to control the other and we also developed our own separate network of companions. 2. We understand that children like to have some continuity of friendship. This is why we use the ‘hand of friendship’ system whereby every child nominates five other children and we guarantee that at least one of those children will be with them in next year’s Form or tutor group. This we know to be mathematically feasible. 3. In some instances, primarily where a child has had serious pastoral issues, we might seek the views of the parents. However, although we will happily listen to the opinions of parents when it comes to the construction of the new groupings, under no circumstances can I guarantee to acquiesce to the wishes of any one set of parents. I do believe that we operate in a customer service industry, but I qualify that view by stating that it is impossible to allow parental wishes to drive this operation. As stated earlier this term, I hope to inform parents of the new groupings and allocation of staff by Friday 12 June at the latest.

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Published for the first time in this edition of Prep for the Week are the draft plans for all of the Saturdays in the Autumn Term. Some reminders: Saturday school is compulsory for all children in Years 7 and 8. Children need to be in school for an 8:15am registration. Academic lessons run until 9:50am, with fixtures and House events beginning after this. Finish time will depend on the venue and nature of fixtures, or House events, but I hope that most events will be over by 1pm. There will be no academic lessons, but Saturday school is compulsory for all children in Years 5 and 6. Saturday school will not be compulsory for Years 3 and 4, but there is an extensive programme that we hope will attract regular attendance. Arrival times and finish times will be dictated by the type and the venue of the event. These will be detailed in the school calendar, on team sheets and in a weekly Saturday morning programme handout that will be distributed on Thursdays. The first of these handouts will be sent out before the end of term to give an indication of how Saturday mornings will look. There will be a Siblings Club for the younger brothers and sisters of those in Year 7 and 8 children involved in the Saturday morning lessons. The Siblings Club will accommodate these children until their meet time for the fixture/House event. Children without siblings involved in Saturday morning lessons will not be able to be accommodated prior to their allotted meet time. Lower School will not open prior to House events or fixtures.

As one can see, there is already much to be excited about in September! But first we must finish the job in hand. Year 8 will do their Common Entrance examinations immediately after half-term. I recommend that half-term is a balance between rest and revision, with the emphasis on the former. Both weekends should be free of angst and pressure. Following on from Common Entrance is the post-CE programme, constructed by Mrs Reid and her team. There is a great deal to look forward to and my expectation is that Year 8 will respond positively to the effort that has gone into devising this programme of events, which are fun

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1798– 22 May 2015

and informative. Should the behaviour of any member of Year 8 slip below expectation, my immediate response will one of disappointment. This will be quickly followed by a decision on the consequences of inappropriate behaviour. For those of you who were lucky enough to attend the Kingfishers Summer Concert, we leave for half-term with ‘a spring in our step and a song in our heart’. Such courage, enthusiasm, teamwork and infectious joie de vivre - well done and thank you Miss Jones, her team and Kingfishers!

Saturday Mornings – Autumn Term 2015 Please find below the overview for our Saturday morning plans, beginning this September. Each week, a Saturday programme will be sent out by clarion giving the fine detail for the morning. The first of these will come out before the end of this term, to give parents a chance to digest the information. Below is the overview for both the Boys and Girls and accompanying notes. The Autumn Term’s major sports are rugby for the boys and hockey for the girls.

• Both schedules begin with a preseason day, further details of this will come out via clarion. • There will be a sporting club and a creative club every Saturday for Year 2, this is optional, but will be great fun to attend. • They will have their fixtures against Dean Close on the 28 November. • Open Morning will be run slightly differently. The plans we have in place mean it will be just as fun for our children as it is for the visitors. Be prepared for mad science experiments, archery in the Barn, and Mr Dawson dragging visiting parents over to join in rugby drills.

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• The Academic Olympiad will be a brain taxing morning containing everything from spelling tests to wacky quizzes about strange facts and maybe even a treasure hunt with cryptic clues! • Please note, there will be some afternoon fixtures against Dean Close for Years 6, 7 and 8. The Bonfire Weekend rugby fixture has been such a longstanding tradition that we didn’t want to lose the event. These matches will begin around 13:00, with plenty of time to get ready for the fireworks.

Boys 12 Sept

19 Sept

3 Oct

Upper PreSchool Season Training

5 Sept

Training Day

Matches v Pinewood

Open Morning

Year 6

PreSeason Training

Training Day

Matches v Pinewood

Open Morning

PreSeason Training

Training Day

Matches v Pinewood

Open Morning

Year 4

PreSeason Training

Rugby Trials

Rugby House Festival at Matches Cheltenham

Year 3

PreSeason Training

Rugby Trials

Rugby House Festival at Matches Cheltenham

Year 5

10 Oct

7 Nov

Matches v Bromsgrove

Matches Matches v v Dean Abingdon Close (pm start)

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Matches v Bromsgrove

Matches House v Dean Matches Close (pm start)

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Matches v Dean Close

House Matches

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Rugby Festival Matches at Clifton v Dean Close

Rugby Festival at Prior Park

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Rugby Festival Matches at Clifton v Dean Close

Rugby Festival at The Downs

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Matches v Bromsgrove

14 Nov

28 Nov

5 Dec

Girls 5 Sept

12 Sept 19 Sept

3 Oct

10 Oct

7 Nov

14 Nov

28 Nov

Upper School

PreSeason Training

Training Matches v Day Pinewood

Open Morning

House Matches

Matches v Dean Close (pm start)

Matches v RGS Worc

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Year 6

PreSeason Training

Training Matches v Day Pinewood

Open Morning

House Matches

Matches v Dean Close (pm start)

Hockey Festival at Bromsgrove

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Year 5

PreSeason Training

Training Matches v Day Pinewood

Open Morning

House Matches

Matches v Dean Close

Year 4

Rugby Trials

Matches v Pinewood

House Matches

Year 3

Rugby Trials

Matches v Pinewood

House Matches

Year 2

Clubs

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5 Dec

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Matches v Dean Close

Hockey Festival at Prior Park

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Matches v St Hugh’s

Hockey Festival at Beaudesert

Matches v Dean Close

Academic Matches v Olympiad The Downs

Clubs

Matches v Dean Close

Clubs

Kingfishers Healthy Kingfishers Take Over the Cooking! Eager and excited, Year 2 children became little chefs last week, planning and preparing their own lunches all in the name of science. Following some in-depth investigations into our dietary habits and what we considered to be healthy foods, our children were set the task of creating their own lunches, being careful to limit the amount of sugar, salt and fat whilst including something from each of the main food groups. Preparation areas were then set up in classrooms (resembling a certain sandwich shop on the Bath Road!) and our children took charge, creating sandwiches with their chosen filling and gathering foods to fill their lunch bags.

They even took over the washing up and cleaning! The whole year group then assembled for a picnic by The Lake to inspect what their friends had created, before eating together in the sunshine. It was a morning of learning, food and fun rolled into one! A big thank you must go to the school kitchen staff for supplying ingredients and supporting the learning of the children. Miss O C Sheldon, Deputy Head of Kingfishers

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Lower School This week saw the whole of Years 3 and 4 take part in the Lower School Maths Challenge. The pupils were split into teams of 4, and took part in seven different mathematical rounds of quizzes, practical activities and challenges. The afternoon proved to be great fun, with every pupil working enthusiastically for his or her team. Most challenges involved problem solving and effective teamwork. Some Year 8 pupils helped out during the afternoon, to assist teams and mark the work to help find the eventual winners.

The top three teams were: 1) WINNERS: Ethan, George and Lilly in Year 4, Ben in Year 3. 2) RUNNERS UP: Zara and Alex in Year 3, Jay and Toby in Year 4. 3) THIRD PLACE: Jacob in Year 3, Noah, Aleki and Arthur in Year 4. Overall, the afternoon was a great success, with all pupils working extremely hard and having lots of fun at the same times as completing some maths. Mr A J Theedom, Lower School Class Tutor

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Year 5 Experience Day

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Upper School Our Year 8 Scholar Work Our Scholars completed their children's book project today, by hosting French/Spanish story time with Reception and Years 1 and 2 in Kingfishers. They used their linguistic skills, as well as their creativity, to make excellent resources for the younger children. We had a pop-up bear, a Little Red Hen sock puppet and a giant, fold-out moose! The Kingfishers thoroughly enjoyed the experience and had plenty of interesting questions for the scholars.

Take a look at these photos of their books, as well as some of them 'live in action' with the younger pupils. Miss C M Lewis, Modern Foreign Languages

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Girls' Sport Tennis Scores Team

Opposition

Date

Score

Result

1sts – 3 pairs

The Dragon

16 May

8–1 matches

WON

2nds – 3 pairs

The Dragon

16 May

7–2 matches

WON

U10/11A – 3 pairs

The Dragon

16 May

11 – 37 games

LOST

U10/11B – 3 pairs

The Dragon

16 May

7 – 28 games

LOST

1sts – 3 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

5–4 matches

WON

2nds – 3 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

6–3 matches

WON

3rds – 3 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

6–3 matches

WON

4ths – 3 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

2–7 matches

LOST

5ths – 2 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

0–4 matches

LOST

U11(A) – 4 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

3–5 matches

LOST

U10(A) – 2 pairs

Dean Close

20 May

2–2 matches

20 May

1-7 matches (1 draw)

17 – 15 games

WON

U10/11(B) – 3 pairs

Richard Pate A

Tennis Team of the Week – Upper School What a week for the Upper School girls, with strong wins over both Dean Close and The Dragon. Our investment in tennis is clearly paying off: the girls are improving rapidly every week, and enjoying every minute. It has been fantastic to see how many points they are now winning from the volley, something we have been working hard at in training. Keep up the good work girls! Miss S E Ramsay, Head of Girls' Sport

LOST

Rounders Team of the Week – U8 We made a very positive start, our second batter opening the scoring with a bravely run rounder. The rest of the girls continued in this confident manner, capitalising on any misfielding to accumulate a pleasing 9 rounders in the first innings. Considering it was only their second fixture, the girls looked very slick and made some good decisions out in the field.

Rounders Scores Team

Opposition

Date

Score

Result

U9A

St Edwards

20 May

11.5 – 14

LOST

U9B

St Edwards

20 May

15.5 – 5

WON

St Edwards

20 May

14 – 9.5

WON

U11

Dean Close

20 May

9.5 – 6

WON

U13

Dean Close

20 May

11 - 20

LOST

It was all to play for in the second innings, as we only had a marginal lead. St Edward's improved their fielding, and were much more effective at preventing us reaching 2nd post for half rounders, but we took a few well judged risks and managed a score of 5 rounders. St Edward's then only managed to score 1.5 rounders thanks to our tight fielding at 2nd base. A really pleasing and well deserved win! Mrs A M Coley, Lower School Class Tutor Prep for The Week Issue Number 1798– 22 May 2015

Girls' Sport Lower School Tennis Festival Last weekend saw the Lower School Tennis Festival involving pupils from Cheltenham, Dean Close, St Edward's, Richard Pate and Wycliffe and this was the first of its kind in the local area for this age group. Although rounders is the usual sport in most schools, Cheltenham Prep is committed to the promotion and development of tennis starting with our youngest games players.

There was a fantastic turn out from our girls at this entirely voluntary event, with only 8 girls not in attendance. Their enthusiasm shone through on the day, and they set a perfect example to our guests. The girls worked their way around 6 different tennis skill stations and worked on hand eye co-ordination, teamwork, and fitness as well as the more obvious tennis skills.

A special mention must also go to the four Year 8 girls who took on key coaching roles at the festival, who did a fantastic job. Well done Megan, Beth, Charlotte and Sophie! Miss S E Ramsay, Head of Girls' Sport

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Girls' Sport Severnside Athletics Meet, Y4 – Y8 Boys and Girls 16 May It can sometimes be difficult to fit athletics competitions into an already very busy Summer Term. We have increased the athletics provision during PE time, to ensure that all pupils are fully prepared for our new Sports Day format, but sometimes practice is not enough and the opportunity to compete against other schools can be invaluable. The Severnside Athletics Meet was perfect for our keen athletes to put into action what they have been working so hard at. We took a full squad of boys and girls, who competed in all of the track and field events: they certainly did not disgrace themselves. Although it was a ‘friendly’ meet and overall school scores and placings were not recorded, the event winners were given certificates and we came home with a few of these winner certificates. Bring on Sports Day! Miss S E Ramsay, Head of Girls' Sport

St Edward's Athletics Meet, Y3 – Y6 Boys and Girls, 21 May Selected pupils from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 had a very successful and enjoyable day at the annual St Edward's Olympic Torch Athletics Festival. The day started with an athlete parade and we then got straight into the 50m, 75m and 600m, relay races. Lots of individual medals were won and we finished 2nd overall from the 6 schools in attendance. We only took 2nd place by one point, and it really showed the children that although athletics is viewed as an individual sport there is an important element of team competition. That person who came 6th in the sprint final and got 1 point, or that person who battled for the final space to be awarded points in the 600m – those people played just as important a role in getting us to 2nd place as the people who came away with the winners' medals. The sun was shining and the children all gave their best making for a great day out. Miss S E Ramsay, Head of Girls' Sport

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1798– 22 May 2015

Boys' Sport Cricket Results Team

Opposition

Result

1st XI

Dean Close

Lost by 7 wickets

2nd XI

Dean Close

Lost by 6 wickets

3rd XI

Dean Close

Won by 6 wickets

4th XI

Dean Close

Lost by 14 runs

5th XI

Dean Close

Lost by 60 runs

Colts A

Dean Close

Lost by 5 wickets

Colts B

Dean Close

Won by 9 wickets

Colts C

Dean Close

Won by 7 wickets

Colts D

Dean Close

Won by 45 runs

U9A

Dean Close

Lost

U9B

Dean Close

Lost

U9C

Dean Close

Won

Team of the Week: Colts D – won by 45 runs Team of the week is without a doubt the Colts D team. We have a simple mantra, that I am sure many of our boys can repeat to parents if asked “We win on the pitch AND off the pitch” and this was absolutely the case for the Colts D team. In an outstanding game of cricket, our boys played superbly, with Mr Thynne reporting back that the energy and noise in the field was close to 1st XI level. They took their chances with the bat and ball and came away with a great win. Our boys behaved impeccably at match tea, after which sharing transport with the 1st XI and Colts A meant the boys had a bit of a wait to leave Dean Close. The Colts D sat on the sideline of the 1st XI game, watching and dissecting their great victory and I could not have been more proud of their behaviour. This was a wonderful example of the best of our school, both on and off the field. If all the boys come and see me after Half Term they will all be given a small reward for taking our sports department mantra to heart. Mr D E Simpson, Head of Boys' Sport

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Well done to the following pupils who have been awarded Headmaster's Commendations • Tom Mace in Year 3, for excellent Coach House Easter work • Ronan Cowing and Thomas Martin-Harrington in Year 4, for wonderfully descriptive and persuasive letter writing • Daniil Solovyev in Year 5, for kindness, consideration and patience towards another pupil • Max Shortt in Year 5, for giving up his free time to work on the Rome House garden • Sophie Morton in Year 8, for giving up her lunchtimes to help her fellow pupils in maths clinic

Individual Achievements

Tom O’Bryan competing on his pony, Tyger, in last weekend’s Inter School Event held at Stonar School.

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Clubs POLO JUNIOR NATIONAL SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP The Prep Polo team took part in the SUPA Junior Schools National Championships and performed very well indeed! They won the B division championship and were presented with a trophy. The team was Zac and Izzy in Year 7, Charlotte and Charlie in Year 8 and Charlie Callon-Hine. The same team will be playing for the Prep on Saturday 30 May for the Cheltenham College Polo Invitation Day against Summerfields. The team played well and were a credit to their school. They were well supported by their parents and everyone enjoyed the day. Mrs D Pagett, Polo Co-ordinator

Bakery Club The pupils made delicious jam tarts and decorated the tops with the pastry off-cuts, some achieving impressive lattice work patterns. We also ambitiously made swiss rolls filled with jam, cream and fruit. They looked amazing! And tasted even better! Craft Club We have been busy in Craft Club decorating ceramic camper van money boxes. The results were very colourful, especially when using pearlised paint. Our children also assembled, painted and decorated bird box mobiles. The designs were all original and looked very attractive. We have also just started the ever popular deco patch project, with pupils carefully covering papier mache animals and pencil boxes with colourful deco patch paper. It's addictive! Mrs G Barrett and Mrs J Buxton

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Notices Kingfishers Costume Callout! As part of our Key Stage One Summer Production, Kingfishers children require mermaid-type costumes, so if you have any fish tails, blond wigs or any items which could be used for our children-please bring them in! If you would like the costumes returned to you, please send in the item(s) in a named bag. Many thanks. Monday 1 June Year 6 History Trip to Coughton Court and Bosworth Battlefield - please note a change in return time, now 18.00 not 16.00.

Why not take advantage of our Activity Camps during the holidays?

There is a 10% discount for all children that attend Prep, email Gemma on info@cheltenhamactivitycamps.co.uk for your discount code. Prep for The Week Issue Number 1798â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 22 May 2015

Happy Birthday to the following pupils next week!

Iola Waley-Cohen

Age 5

Isabella Whitelocks

Age 6

Savannah Palmer

Age 7

Sophia Griffin

Age 7

Adam Emirali

Age 8

Sofia-Maria Capelastegui

Age 11

Andre Zamora

Age 12

Kitty Dunkerton Libby Hall Jacob Schmidt

Fergus Gray

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Age 9

Age 11 Age 13 Age 13

Sunday, May 31, 2015 - Sunday, June 7, 2015 Sunday, 31 May 2015 19:00

Boarders return by 20:00

Monday, 1 June 2015 Week 8 (33) 1 - 7 June 08:00

Term resumes

08:30

Year 8 Common Entrance Examinations

09:00

Year 6 History Trip to Coughton Court/Bosworth Battlefield. Return for 18:00

Tuesday, 2 June 2015 08:30

Year 8 Common Entrance Examinations

08:30

Year 7 Resilience Workshop

08:30

Years 5 and 6 Childline Assembly

Wednesday, 3 June 2015 08:30

Year 8 Common Entrance Examinations