Prep for the Week Issue 1842

Prep for the Week Issue Number 1842 – 11 November 2016

In this week’s issue…

Headmaster's Blog and Commendations House Art Scholastic Book Fair in the Library Kingfishers and Lower School news Bakery Club Shakespeare Schools Festival Girls' and Boys' Sports Barcelona Rugby Tour Calendar and Notices

he t o t s tion a l u t a r ho, Cong w m a te y b g u R irst 1st VII f n e t a nbe u n a r the afte n o w , erm t e h t k! e e w half of s i y th h p o r t ide s n r e v e S

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Headmaster's Blog Dear Parents As we return from a generous break, it is so important that we don’t ‘ease back into the routine’, but instead ‘hit the ground running’.

There are six weeks of term remaining and be assured, apart from the final two days of term when we will celebrate the arrival of the Festive Season as a community, the focus on academics, hard work and hard play will be the order of the day. Of course, the days of some individuals will be disrupted as we seek to complement academic work with co-curricular activities (this week's performances of Year 6 and Year 8 in the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Roses Theatre are a good example), this being in the ‘DNA’ of schools such as The Prep. The benefits to the children who took part in the overseas trips to Barcelona and Rotterdam are obvious; cultural experiences, travelling, competing as a team and learning how to succeed and fail are all part of touring.

I feel that we have now established a sensible pattern of trips which are available to children throughout Years 3 to 8, although I am looking to introduce a short residential trip into Year 5 to help with the transition from Year 4. Starting with the simple overnight, school-based experience in Year 3, there is a steady progression through Year 4 (Bushcraft), Year 6 (Guernsey) and finally Year 7 and 8 (alternating overseas sports and music tours). Complementing these trips, I hope to re-establish the ski trip, basing it on those who wish to compete at the IAPS Championships in March. In establishing this rhythm I have borne certain factors in mind: cost is very important

Headmaster's Commendations Sienna Baggioli for exemplary conduct and attitude when hosting a visiting pupil Tobias Millar for an excellent saddle using pastels Imogen Mansell-King for outstanding commitment in Art Zandra Games for an excellent presentation Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

as I know that parents only want to say ‘no’ on so many occasions; (I am aware that one of our close competitors went on a netball tour to Barbados, loyally accompanied by the Headmaster!) inclusivity is essential and all trips, apart from those based on specialist activities, are designed so that all can travel if they wish; all trips also have educational value and are not simply a ‘jolly’; and finally I have to make sure that there are staff willing to accompany them. Of course, four days in Barcelona sounds ideal. Making sure that twenty-nine 12 and 13 year olds are safe and sound and entertained for 24 hours of the day does tend to offer a dose of reality!

I am convinced of the value of these trips but have no intention of entering into an ‘arms race’, refusing to compare ourselves to others who travel to all four corners of the globe. And, of course, The Prep has displayed itself in its best light on these tours with our children acting as excellent ambassadors for both School and country.

Jon Whybrow

Congratulations to Ollie McGrath, Joseph

Tagg and Isaac Tagg who, following recent cricket trials for Worcestershire County Cricket Club, have all been selected for the County Age Group Winter training programme.

This programme relates to the whole of the 2016/17 winter and cricket seasons and means that the boys are involved with County and County Seconds under 12 cricket - an impressive achievement. Well done boys!

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House Art

Entries into the House Art competition, which feature some of Cheltenham's most iconic buildings, are now on up in the House corridor.

Don't forget to pop by and marvel at some of the fantastic, colourful and broad artistic talent on display!

A huge well done to Tom Shaw, who represented The Prep last weekend as mascot to Gloucester Rugby in their clash against Saracens. Here's his account of his afternoon at Kingholm: "Saturday was one of the best days ever - I was asked to be mascot for Gloucester Rugby! Four weeks ago, I broke my arm in rugby training and I'm now off sport for twelve weeks, but this was really exciting.

Before the match, I was shown around behind the scenes and in the team changing rooms. I walked around the pitch waving to the crowd, and then just before the match we lined up in the tunnel - I ran out on to the pitch with Greig Laidlaw. I was really pleased that Ollie Thorley was playing as he used to go to Cheltenham Prep and the College.

It was a really exciting match! At half time, Gloucester were losing 5 to 25 but they had a superb second half and won in the dying seconds of the game. I was so lucky to have been there and really happy that so many of my friends and family came to watch."

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

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Choose from over s!

200 book

Come to our

Book Fair ...and earn FREE BOOKS for our school!*

NEW

NEW

IN PAPERBACK

NEW

NEW

IN PAPERBACK

*Free books are subject to terms and conditions. Please contact your Book Fair organiser or Scholastic Book Fairs for details.

9789995168636

NEW

NEW

Hundreds of books at pocket-money prices

21 - 23 November in the Library Come during break or lunch time,

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TM

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

& © WBEI

and before or after school!

Design & Technology Christmas Course

fast, so book now to avoid disappointment.

Additional Information Pupils will need to wear casual, but not loose clothing, with no open toed footwear. They should also bring a packed lunch, with enough drinks and snacks to keep them going throughout the day. Before Monday 19 – Thursday 22 lunch, there will be a planned December activity for the children to run Pupils in Years 5 to 8 can enjoy a few around. days of crafting and making as part of the new D&T Christmas Course.

The course will cost a total of £180, Running from 19 to 22 December, which will be added to your end of 9:30 – 15:30 in the fantastic new term account. Numbers are limited D&T facilities, the course will allow to 20 children per day, on a first children to design and make their come basis. All four days will be own bird feeder. This will call on and needed to guarantee completion improve a variety of skills, using a of the project. The cost covers all selection of tools and processes. A materials, services, activities and session of free making will also be private tuition. laid on, allowing children to explore their creativity. Places on the course Book via email to Mr Boyd no later are limited, and disappearing than Friday 25 November.

Book now - only 5 places remaining!

Prep Science Competition Team 'Pipped at the Post' This Wednesday a team of four brilliant Middle School scientists represented The Prep at an inter-schools Science competition. The selection of our team was based on both enthusiasm and ability shown in Science. Year 6 also carried out a preliminary quiz and the two top scorers got through. It was an incredibly tough event with very tricky questions based on both cutting edge and historical science. The team, which included Paras Aggarwal, Amelia Hounam-Brooker, Noah Campbell-Black and Kamila Aldongar, performed brilliantly and were sitting in second place at one point. It was neck and neck in the first round but sadly, we were pipped at the post by some strong opposition in round two! All pupils reported that they had learnt a great deal and, judging from the squeals of excitement as the scores were revealed after each question, they certainly enjoyed themselves. We look forward to the event again next year as we hope to take two teams and come back victorious!

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Brrrr... It's getting chilly in

Kingfishers!

This term, Year 2's topic is 'Poles Apart'. In English we have been sorting our polar books into fiction and non-fiction and we have been looking at the features of non-fiction texts. The children have been writing some of their own facts about polar bears using the suffix "-ing".

"Polar bears are very good at walking across the ice." Ted "Polar bears like drinking sea water." - Beatrix "Polar bears like scratching the cold ice." - Bella "Polar bears spend time guarding their cubs." - Hugo "The polar bear eats by chewing its food." - Finlay In Art, the children began creating clay penguins.

They rolled the clay into a cylinder then they formed its round head and pinched a beak shape. Next week the children will be painting their creations so please do pop by and see our waddle of penguins!

"It's very rainy, but we don't care, we're marching off to Forest School!"

In the Nursery, all our boys and girls enjoyed the wet walk to Forest School this week, where we discovered some very wet mud pies and lots of creepy crawlies hiding under soggy leaves!

(P.S. Thanks for this great picture of us marching off in our puddle suits, Mr Whybrow!)

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Lower School

"How far had he walked? Nobody knows.

Where had he come from? Nobody knows.

How was he made? Nobody knows.

Taller than a house, the Iron Man stood at the top of the cliff, on the very brink, in the darkness." - The Iron Man Returning from half term Year 4 found Lower School invaded by an army of Iron Men. Having read the story The Iron Man in class, fantastic models were made from just about anything the boys and girls could get hold of. Reading comprehension provided the inspiration and detail whilst Technology skills were put to the test in the making, even including some welding skills! Year 4 are justifiably proud of their Iron Men and couldn’t wait to tell us how they were made, what they were made from and what they knew from the story.

Meanwhile Year 3 have been creative in a different way. Linking their learning about climate zones around the world to their understanding of hot and cold colours the pupils have been producing some really effective pictures to combine their knowledge.

Lower School have spent time this week understanding the significance of Remembrance Day. A variety of activities has helped us to know when Remembrance Day started, why we remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who we are remembering. Year 3 particularly enjoyed having to listen carefully to follow instructions that enable them to make their own poppies for remembrance. Taking part in this week’s Act of Remembrance will surely be a meaningful experience for them.

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Bakery Club Bakery Club was transformed the week before Half Term into a gathering of witches, cats and monsters as we celebrated an early Halloween! The pupils decorated witches hats, as well as spider, monster and owl cakes and also made gruesome eyeballs. As you can see the results were spook-tacular!

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

Break a leg! Two casts of Cheltenham Prep pupils took to the stage of the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, this week as part of the national Shakespeare Schools Festival.

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Girls' Sports Girls' Hockey Results TEAM OPPOSITION DATE SCORE U10 A The Elms Wed 9 Nov Won 5 – 2 U11 A The Elms Wed 9 Nov Won 6 – 3 1st VII Beaudesert Wed 9 Nov Lost 0 – 1 2nd VII Beaudesert Wed 9 Nov Won 2 – 1 3rd VII Beaudesert Wed 9 Nov Lost 1 – 3 Beaudesert Wed 9 Nov Lost 2 – 4 4th VII 5th VII Beaudesert Wed 9 Nov Lost 1 – 2

and , fixtures s w e n itter! r Fo us on Tw w o ll o f , updates eltprepgirls @ch

Team of the Week – 2nd VII The 2nd team are moving from strength to strength. After a nervous beginning to the first half of their match this week, the girls soon regained their confidence and pushed forward in the attack. The wings crossed strongly and the positioning around the goal mouth was superb, meaning we were able to slot one goal away before the half time whistle. We took some time to regroup after the whistle and Beaudesert capitalised with an easy goal. However, the defence picked up and tackled well, supported by the mid-field. The goalie made some superb, confident saves, which secured the match for us. A lovely passage of play down the wing finished with a strong shot at goal and we were 2-1 up. Lots of food for thought but a good start to this Half Term. Well done girls!

As heavy rain interrupted play this week, the girls took to the Sports Hall to practise their skills.

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Barcelona Rugby Tour Over Half Term a group of 34 boys and 4 staff headed off for a rugby tour to Barcelona. As with all Prep Sports Tours it was open to all boys in Year 7 and 8, and therefore we had a mixed group from U13A to U12B boys.

Despite an early (very early!) start, the boys landed in Barcelona

in great spirits and soon hit the beaches of Sitges for a dip in the sea. After a spot of lunch in town, preparations began for our first tour matches. The B side took on a strong Sant Cugat U12A team and, despite a heroic performance, we were unable to penetrate their well organised defence. Just before the A team took the field, we found out that the Sant Cugat U14 team we faced were not just the National Champions, but hadn’t lost in six years. The boys found themselves losing 12-10 and up against a well drilled and physical outfit.

The second half saw us raise our intensity and Sant Cugat couldn’t live with this pace and we came away with a 12 point win.

we headed into Barcelona for a guided tour of the beautiful city and then a cracking tour of the Nou Camp - the Barcelona Football Club stadium, and its staggeringly expensive club shop!

Day 3 began with another beautiful morning in the harbour before The sore bodies that arose the next more beach time. Afterwards, morning were treated to breakfast we headed to Sitges Rugby Club for a festival of rugby. Along on the harbour before heading with our two teams and Sitges down for more beach time. The we were expecting another boys then headed off to the local opponent, but it was not till we rugby club where we began to got there that we found out it was prepare for our next matches. the full Andorran U14 national Instead of A and B sides we split side! Both sides played superbly, the boys into two mixed ability with intensity, super handling teams – Blue and White – and the and great composure in the heat. boys were able to train in these The Blue and White teams both sides for the morning. After lunch Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

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beat Andorra and we had one win against Sitges, before some rather older chaps appeared in the second Sitges game! It was a superb day with some lovely people from all over Europe, who love their rugby. That evening we headed to the Nou Camp, along with 99,000 others, to watch Barcelona play Granada in a La Liga match. It wasn’t the greatest performance in the club’s history, but it was still a great experience for the boys.

beach on such a sunny day! We then headed off to demonstrate our own brand of football in a mini tournament organised by Mr Baird.

It may not have been the beautiful game the locals were used to seeing, but it was not for lack of effort!

On Monday the boys headed off to PortaVentura, one of Europe’s largest theme parks, for a day of rides and eating huge quantities of sweets. We managed to hit the park on Halloween, which meant long queues, but it was quite an Sunday saw the boys bring a bit experience with so many Catalans of Gloucestershire to Catalonia!

After the boys hit the beach to ease all dressed up for the event at the park that evening. That night saw off their tired bodies, staff lined up a Sunday roast for everyone. a bit of packing before travelling Locals were shocked to see 34 lads back the next day. sitting eating roast chicken on the

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

The boys were an absolute credit to the school, both on and off the pitch. The Year 7s and 8s integrated so well and the attitude from all 34 boys was superb. The staff really enjoyed taking the players away and were very proud of them throughout. Special thanks to the parents who came out to support and, most of all, to Mr Baird, Mr Dawson and Mr Hall for giving up their holiday to come on the trip.

We will absolutely be back in 2018.

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Boys' Sports

For n update ews, fixtures a s, follo w us o nd n @chelt prep_b Twitter! oys

Boys' Rugby Results TEAM OPPONENT RESULT U13A VII Severnside 7s Winner Severnside B 7s Festival U13B VII Severnside B 7s Festival U13C VII U12A VII Severnside 7s 3rd Place U12B White VII Severnside B 7s Festival U12B Blue VII Severnside B 7s Festival U11A Severnside Festival Festival Severnside B Festival Festival U11B Blue U11B White Severnside B Festival Festival U10A Severnside Festival Festival U10B Blue Severnside B Festival Festival Severnside B Festival Festival U10B White U9A Prior Park Festival Festival U9B Prior Park Festival Festival

Team of the Week – U13A VII win the Severnside VIIs Wednesday was a superb day of rugby. The boys were well rested after the Half Term break and came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. Officially, we are not meant to keep scores in Festivals... but we won an awful lot of games in the Festivals yesterday. What was also fantastic was that instead of B and C teams entered in the Festivals, we mixed them up into Blue and White teams. The usual C team players responded to the challenge well and performed superbly.

Special mention must go to the two VIIs playing in the U13B VIIs. The B VII managed to go through the Festival without conceding a point, whilst the C VII, playing in a B team tournament, actually beat a couple of schools’ B teams.

However, team of the week needs to go to the 1st VII. After their unbeaten first half of the term in the XIIIs format and the successful Barcelona tour it was time to turn to the short format of the game. The boys were outstanding yesterday, beating Dean Close 25-10, Down’s Wraxall 25-5, St John’s 40-5 and Wycliffe 50-0 to go on to win the Severnside trophy. The boys have two weeks until the Pinewood 7s, but they know they cannot rest on their laurels as the hugely successful B team VII are after their spots for Pinewood! Lots of hard training sessions and even harder selection decsions to come; but for now a short time to reflect on a job well done… before Dean Close on Saturday.

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All changes and additions to the School Calendar appear in pink.

Calendar

Sunday 13 November 2016 14:00 Boarders' Bowling Championships (Full and Regular Flexi-Boarders Only) Monday 14 November 2016, Week 11, 14 - 20 November

Cheltenham College 13+ (Year 8) Sports Scholarship (College)

Year 7 Examinations (All day) 16:30 Years 3-8 Pupils' Informal Concert (Lake House) Tuesday 15 November 2016

Lower School Science Day

Cheltenham College 13+ (Year 8) Sports Scholarship (College)

Year 7 Examinations (All day) Wednesday 16 November 2016

Year 7 Examinations (am)

Scholastic Book Fair (Library) Departure for Rugby v Abberley Hall (A): U13A XIII, U13B XIII, U12B XII. Start 14:30. Pick up 17:30 12:35 14:30 Rugby v Abberley Hall (H): U11A IX, U11B IX, U10A VIII, U10B VIII. Pick up 16:15 14:45 Hockey v St Edward's (H): U11A, U11B, U10A, U10B. Pick up 16:15 Hockey v Richard Pate (H): U9A, U9B. Pick up 17:15 16:00 16:00 Hockey v Denmark Road HSFG (H): 1st VII, 2nd VII. Pick up 17:15 Thursday 17 November 2016

Year 7 Examinations (am)

LAMDA Examinations (Lake House)

Scholastic Book Fair (Library) Friends of The Prep Coffee Morning (Drawing Room) until 09:00 08:15 16:45 Swimming Gala v Denmark Road HSFG (H): Years 7-8. Pick up 18:00 - Cancelled 18:00 The Cheltonian Association & Society London Drinks - Davy’s Wine Bar, Crown Passage, 20 King’s Street, St James’s, London, SW1Y 6QY

Friday 18 November 2016

Council Day followed by Buffet Supper

LAMDA Examinations (Lake House)

Scholastic Book Fair (Library)

11+ Entrance Day for Year 6 and Prospective Pupils Chapel (parents welcome) 14:15 Kingfishers Open Afternoon for current parents until 15:30 (Classrooms) 14:30 Kingfishers Parent Workshop lead by Rachel Melville-Thomas (Library) 15:45 Saturday 19 November 2016

Council Meeting

Scholastic Book Fair (Library)

LAMDA Examinations (Swindon Village School) 11+ (Year 6) Assessment Day (External Candidates) 08:15 Departure for Prior Park Hockey Festival (A): U8A, U8B. Start 10:00. Pick up 13:00 08:30 09:00 Middle School Pre-Season Netball. Pick up 10:30 Hockey v Prior Park (H): U9A. Pick up 10:45 09:30 Departure for Rugby v Abingdon School (A): U12A XII, U12B XII. Start 11:15. Pick up 14:00 09:50 Middle School House Rugby. Pick up 12:30 10:00 Upper School Pre-Season Netball. Pick up 12:00 10:30 10:45 Rugby v Abingdon School (H): U13 XIII, U13B XIII. Pick up 12.00 Sunday 20 November 2016

LAMDA Examinations (Swindon Village School) Boarders' Ice Skating (Full and Regular Flexi-Boarders Only) 13:30 Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

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NOTICES Happy Birthday to the following pupils this week!

Ivy Checketts 3

Sebastian Mawdesley-Thomas 8 Tiger Shaw 8

The Cheltonian Association Dates for the Diary Thursday 17 November London Drinks at Davy’s Wine Bar

Carys Bradford 10

Crown Passage, 20 King’s Street,

Henry Hiscock 12

Sunday 27 November

Willoughby Cooke 12

Austin Taroey 13

Please take care in the car park Drivers parking in the College and Prep car parks are reminded to please take care when manoeuvring their vehicle, after a car in a Prep parking bay was significantly damaged last week.

If you experience any damage or other problems when parking at The Prep, please report this to Reception.

If the Prep car park is too busy to park your car, additional spaces can be found at the College Sports Centre and next to Westal Boarding House.

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1842 11 November 2016

St James’s, London SW1Y 6QY

Cheltenham College Christmas Shopping Fair

Friends of The Prep Summer Term Events: Update The What's On Annual Calendar document for 2016-17 shows two Friends of the Prep events; the Family Camp Out on Saturday 17 June and the Friends of the Prep Ball on Saturday 24 June.

However, after extensive consultation, we are aware that events on two consecutive Saturdays in this busy period, one week before Parents' Day on 1 July, is too much to pack in.

Accordingly, our plan is to hold off staging a Ball, and to concentrate our efforts on the Camp Out which, as a family event, is open to both parents and children. We will circulate further details of the Family Camp Out event nearer the time. We should also add that Cheltenham College will hold a black tie evening event around Christmas 2017.

If you wish to help with the Family Camp Out or have any questions, please contact the Chair of Friends of The Prep, Dan Bingham (email dpwbingham@gmail.com). Thank you for your support!

Friends of The Prep

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