Prep for the Week Issue 1864

Prep for the Week Issue Number 1864 – 23 June 2017

In this week’s issue…

Headmaster's Blog and Commendations A View from the Classics Department Kingfishers, Lower and Upper School News Adventures in Salamanca Summer Concert and House Singing Year 7 Explore Normandy Art and D&T Scholars' Exhibition Year 8 Leavers' Dinner Calendar Notices

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Headmaster's Blog Dear Parents This week and last have been largely dominated by the myriad of trips and events which have come to characterise the busy second half of the Summer Term.

These experiences are enormously valuable, allowing children to cement their skills by putting them into practice in the field, or enhancing their understanding by bringing them in to contact with real life examples of what they have learned in the classroom. I know our teaching staff delight in seeing the competence and panache shown by our pupils in Spain who find themselves in conversation with a chorizo market stall holder in Salamanca, for example!

Of course, providing this breadth of experience and opportunity often has an impact on the momentum of both sporting and academic life at The Prep. With this in mind, I would like to commend the pupils who, despite the end of term looming, are still entering the classroom with enthusiasm, working hard and challenging themselves.

I am delighted to see pupils of all ages topping off this academic year with new experiences and the chance to make lasting memories with their friends and classmates.

Jon Whybrow

Headmaster’s Commendations Lily Ropner for maintaining such a high standard of creative writing throughout the year Isabelle Marriott for demonstrating fantastic historical knowledge in her independent research topic on The Explorers Craig Simpson for working extremely hard to present his independent research topic on The Explorers.

A small group of our Year 8 girls have been celebrating Women in Engineering Day at a special event at the University of Wolverhampton, organised by Dare to Be Different - an organisation who inspire, connect and showcase female talent in the motor sport industry.

This event, featuring staff and equipment from Mercedes F1 promised to be something very special for this group of girls. Look out in next week's issue of Prep for the Week for the full story...

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A View from the Classics Department At The Prep, although our focus is on teaching Latin and Classical Civilisation, we aim to go as far beyond the ‘traditional’ world as we can of what most of us may remember from school.

Many remember Latin being learned in rote fashion from old (and dusty) grammar books which seem sadly very distant to the needs and uses of a modern society, especially in a time when the world is now moving very quickly and children can choose from so many subjects further on in their school career.

So, what do we actually do in Latin lessons? And why bother at all with Latin? Well, we’re certainly not just about repeating grammar patterns over and over again (although we can’t deny that’s important, too, as with any language). However, in the last five years we’ve overhauled and refined a lot of what we do: In Year 5, pupils begin their work on Minimus (our core text book) and, during the year, as well as meeting some of the necessary and basic material needed we also focus on: • Roman dinner parties (yes, the Romans really did eat dormice tails and jellyfish!).

• Greek myths and their meanings; there are many contemporary links to modern story-telling and pupils always enjoy a good story.

• Roman slavery, and the use of slaves in Rome.

• Roman Britain and the effects of a large empire and power engulfing a smaller one – religion, life, customs and its people.

• We cover some basic Greek and Egyptian civilisation, for example, mummification and hieroglyphics.

• We learn about Roman education and look at the position of boys and girls in Roman society.

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At this stage, our most important objective is to introduce the pupils to a wide range of topics; to get them thinking; to help them link the Ancient World with the modern. Classics is tailor-made for pupils learning how to identify and discuss differences and similarities between cultures, often surprisingly not so far removed from their own. Looking at Roman toys, and holding real artefacts, used by ‘real’ Romans, can bring a topic to life.

Year 6 sees us begin further work on Common Entrance Latin, complemented by work on the Roman army. Because we know pupils enjoy the Civilisation topics, we’ve designed a stand alone booklet, which covers the basics but also offers lots of opportunities for challenges and extension work. Independent learning skills are taken into account across the whole curriculum. World Book Day saw us aiming to introduce some real Latin verse into our lessons to Year 7; we actively encourage our pupils to read and enquire above and beyond what’s on the syllabus.

Our Common Entrance work continues into Upper School, when we start to look in more detail at syllabus requirements for Latin and Greek mythology. Most pupils will sit Level 1 or 2 Common Entrance; some pupils will sit Level 3 Common Entrance and of course just as with other subjects, a few will take the Scholars’ Latin paper.

Our recent results have been very strong, with pupils out-performing other schools in comparison. We aim to breed ambition and healthy competition!

As we approach the end of Year 8, we work closely with senior schools to look beyond Common Entrance.

Many of our boys and girls go on to be very successful Ccassicists, who

study at the top universities. We have had successful Oxbridge entrants for Classics whose careers started at The Prep. We work closely to look at bridging the gap between GCSE and beyond, so we can get our pupils off to a flying start when they enter Year 9.

We also complement our work in the classroom with a balance of activities.

In recent years, we’ve made mosaics, held Roman dinner parties, written Roman letters with Roman equipment and designed volcanoes to mimic the end of Pompeii. We’ve had some pupils working their way through the basics of Greek, we’ve been to the Roman Baths in Bath, tasted the water there and we’ve visited Rome, its famous Colosseum and Forum, and discovered first hand how life was for the Romans and Britons living under their control.

In an ever and fast-changing world, drawing on a wealth of culture from an Empire which controlled most of the known world is a fascinating and valuable experience.

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Kingfishers What do you get if you have; the sunshine, fifteen excited children, four willing (if slightly nervous) teachers, a yummy picnic and a big bus? It must be the Reception Class trip! The children started with a lesson on pond life, spending time pond-dipping and examining their catches under microscopes, before moving off to watch the otters being fed. The children then explored the wetlands, spotting tiny moorhen chicks, but deciding that counting the flamingoes was far too big a job. They also enjoyed feeding the ducks, geese and swans, even getting the birds to feed from their hands, although only Mrs Carson enjoyed hand-feeding the swans. A picnic and an opportunity to explore the watery world of Welly Land was a wonderful way to finish off the day. What do you get at the end of the day? The sunshine, four exhausted teachers, a big bus, fifteen tired sleepy children and the sound of gentle snoring!

Under the Sea The Cottage and Reception children had a wonderful time on Wednesday afternoon, performing Under the Sea for their parents, family and friends. It was so warm and we were all so proud of the efforts of the smallest members of the school. There were songs, poems and laughter, a perfect end to the academic year. Well done everyone.

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Years 1 and 2 Summer Performance What a treat this week to be welcomed to the magical garden inhabited by a range of exciting and wonderful minibeasts, played by our talented Year 1 and 2 children.

The narrators guided us through our story, introducing us first to our group of troubled ladybirds, who needed everybody’s help to solve a spotty problem. We were delighted by the dancing of the butterflies, enchanted by singing spiders and slightly scared by the tough beetles but relieved to find their soft centre. The grasshoppers leapt energetically around the stage whilst giving our selfish ladybird some good advice. Woody, our old oak tree, shared his wisdom so that when the sun went down, all our lovely ladybirds’ spots were beautifully shiny.

Well done everyone for lines well learned, songs tunefully sung and dances gracefully performed.

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Lower School Brains to the test in the Lower School maths challenge!

Year 3 and 4 pupils enjoyed an afternoon of brain stretching, number crunching challenges of a mathematical nature. Mr Theedom had worked hard to organise and devise some exciting and innovating tasks for teams of four children to solve between them within a time limit. He was ably assisted by a team of Year 5 and Year 7 pupils who took charge of a group each.It was a great way to spend an afternoon. We love maths!

The winning team was 'Fluffy Marshmallows'! Enjoy these photos of the children in problem solving mode – you can almost see the cogs turning! A couple of maths jokes for you.

Q: Why was six afraid of seven?

A: Because seven ‘ate’ nine!

Q: What did the zero say to the eight?

A: Nice belt!

Upper School On Monday, one of the hottest days of the year so far, post-Common Entrance pupils in Year 8 decided to go for a walk up Leckhampton Hill and visit the Lido in the afternoon to cool down.

The walk was good – hot, but bearable with lots of breaks for drinks and plenty of suncream applied! We felt very proud of ourselves when we reached the top and admired the view over Cheltenham.

The walk down was far easier in the shade, and we got back to school and had our packed lunches, before setting off to the Lido. This was so much fun, and the perfect way to chill out (literally) on a very hot day.

And of course the ice creams helped!

Thank you to all the staff for organising fantastic trips for Year 8 this week.

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Adventures in Salamanca Last week, a group of Year 7 pupils took a trip to Salamanca in order to learn more about the Spanish language and local culture.

After arriving in Salamanca, we headed straight out for a dance lesson, where the pupils were introduced to some basic salsa steps, all conducted in Spanish. We then headed back to our residence for a quick game of basketball and a typical Spanish meal.

The next day, after two hours of Spanish lessons, we were treated to a tour of the main historical buildings of Salamanca, which included the cathedral, the main square and the university buildings. Salamanca has over 2,700 years of history and boasts one of the oldest universities in Europe, as well having the most beautiful cathedral. We were able

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to find the frog on the facade of the university building, which brings us good luck in our exams, as well as finding the rather unusual carvings of a lobster and an astronaut around the cathedral doors! After a three course lunch, we were invited to have tapas in the main square. We spent a good few hours sheltering from the afternoon heat, eating tapas and rehydrating whilst watching the world go by, before heading out to the shops for some serious shopping. We just about managed to fit another three course meal in before writing our diaries and enjoying some free time before bed.

some souvenir shopping and then we had a much needed siesta. Afterwards we headed back to the main square for the last time, where we were treated to some delicious 'chocolate con churros'.

It was a great trip and the behaviour of the pupils was excellent; we certainly got a good insight into Spanish history and culture as well as being able to use our Spanish in real life situations.

On Wednesday morning after lessons, we completed a photo rally and quiz around Salamanca, where we had to ask local people questions in Spanish.

Afterwards we headed to the Casa Lis, which is an Art Nouveau museum and later we made some tortilla and non alcoholic sangria at a cookery school.

We got to stay up late on Wednesday evening so that we could enjoy the sound and light show in the square, as well as ordering our ice creams in Spanish.

On Thursday, temperatures reached 41 degrees, so instead of doing sport we opted to go to El Corte InglĂŠs for

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Summer Concert and House Singing

Saturday 17 June saw the entire school participate in the Summer Concert and House Singing Competition in Chapel. Looking resplendent in their colourful House tops, the school and lots of parents sat and listened to various music groups giving a taste of the extracurricular music on offer at The Prep. This included rousing performances by Brass Group and Wind Band, a performance of ‘Skyfall’ by the Jazz Band (with the solo sung by Josie Grounds), and a performance by the Percussion Group using plastic dustbins! The Orchestra started the proceedings in style, performing a variety of pieces (including 'Harry Potter' and ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets), before each House then took part in the Singing Competition. This was adjudicated

by Mr Richard Coxon (Head of the Vocal Faculty at College), and despite the performances being incredibly close in standard, – Athens came away the worthy winners for their rendition of ‘Crocodile Rock’ (the theme was all Elton John songs…!). Well done to all for a fantastic morning of music-making.

A Message for Year 8 Paren

Facts and Dangers of Drugs Tuesday 27 June 08:30-10:30 in

ts

the Prep Assembly Hall

We have arranged for a speci alist speaker, Mr Bob Tait, to come into school to talk to Year 8 pupils and their parents about the facts and dangers of drugs. This talk will take place on Tuesday 27 June from 08:30 until 10:30.

The same talk last year prove d to be a great success, being both informative and educational, and we would be delighted to see as many Year 8 parents as possible.

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Year 7 Explore Normandy in a 360° cinema certainly made us all stop and think about what had happened on that day in June.

A quick stop at the hypermarket followed before an evening enjoying the home cooked food and grounds.

Last week, Year 7 students were immersed in l'expérience française, in the heart of Normandy. A smooth ferry crossing was followed by a coach ride to Le Château de la Baudonnière, a beautiful and rambling country house with a lake, a farm – and Kévin the peacock.

The first day got the students immersed in French life first-hand by taking them to a local market, where much haggling over sausages and crêpes ensued... this was followed by a very powerful History lesson in the picturesque village of Arromanches, where in 1944 the Allied forces began the first stage of Operation Overlord – otherwise known as D-Day. A moving multimedia presentation Prep for The Week Issue Number 1864 23 June 2017

Wednesday and Thursday saw the students split into two groups, and got stuck into some very wet and muddy activities, including raft building and an assault course. Before all that though, the students got busy learning how to make bread, using French instructions under the watchful eyes of Mary and Pau...I mean the teachers. It was great to see the students use their imagination when creating their designs, and not a dérrière détrempé (soggy bottom) in sight...!

talent contest on the final evening.

Finally an incredibly early start on Friday saw us make our way home. It was a terrific week and the children had clearly learnt so much more French – and were more confident in using it, in the short time we were there. A huge thank you to the students who were impeccably behaved ambassadors for the school during the week, and to Mrs Reid, Mrs Parish and Mr Newson for accompanying Year 7 on such a successful trip.

Other activities that were completed in the week ranged from developing photos to aeroball, with the evenings taken up with fancy dress, eating snails (with many of the boys asking for more!), and the all-important 9

Year 8 Leavers' Dinner

As part of the post-Common Entrance programme, which includes a variety of academic and co-curricular trips and events, Year 8 donned their smart wear for a special dinner. It was great to see our hard-working eldest pupils letting their hair down to celebrate a successful final year at The Prep.

thank you

to Holroyd Howe and The Prep's talented A big catering staff for putting on such a delicious feast for the pupils.

Art and D&T Scholars' Exhibition The Prep Art Room has been hosting a 13+Art and DT Scholars' Exhibition, celebrating the outstanding work created by scholars Molly Krauer, Imogen Friessner-Day, Annie Carter, Tobias Millar, Oliver Callon Hine and Maria Cowing.

All of these have achieved an award to college: five are full Scholars and one Exhibition. The exhibition will continue until the last week of term. Please do come and have a look, it is quite outstanding!

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Girls' Sports er!

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Girls' Tennis Results DATE SCORE RESULT TEAM OPPOSITION 1st Team 3 pairs Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 4 – 5 LOST 2nd Team 3 pairs Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 7 – 2 WON 3rd Team 3 pairs Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 2 – 4 LOST 4th Team 4 pairs Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 5 – 3 WON Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 8 – 0 WON 5th Team 3 pairs 6th Team 2 pairs Bromsgrove Wed 21 June 1 – 3 LOST

Middle School House Rounders and Tennis 1st – Rome 2nd – Athens 3rd equal – Corinth + Persia 5th equal – Troy + Sparta

Boys' Sports Team of the Week – 1st XI v Marling School On Tuesday afternoon the 1st XI took the field against Marling School in the semi final of the County Cup. Our 1st XI have been unbeaten in this competition for nearly four seasons now and none of the boys want to be the side to break this run, so the pressure was on.

The format is 20:20 so the onus is on the boys to maintain a strong run rate with the bat and apply pressure with the ball. Cheltenham batted first and achieved their aim, with the opening pair keeping a superb rate. They mixed quick singles with powerful boundaries and kept the Marling fielders under real pressure. The score quickly built and Cheltenham finished for tea at 171/4.

Cheltenham took the field and made early breathroughs with some our strong bowling attack. The Marling captain played very well, under real pressure, but once he was run by his teammate Cheltenham took a strangehold on game, bowling out Marling for 53. This puts us into the County Cup final, where we await to find out who we will play.

Boys' Cricket Results OPPOSITION RESULT SCORE TEAM 1st XI Marling School – County Cup Semi Final Won By 118 runs Won By 26 runs 1st XI Pinewood 1st XI 3rd XI Pinewood 2nd XI Lost By 79 runs 4th XI Pinewood 3rd XI Won By 6 wickets Won By 23 runs 5th XI Dean Close 5th XI 6th XI Dean Close 6th XI Won By 68 runs Prep for The Week Issue Number 1864 23 June 2017

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

Calendar

Sunday 25 June 2017 10:00 Boarders' Trip to The New Forest Aqua Park (Full and Regular Flexi-Boarders Only) Monday 26 June 2017

Week 11 (37) 26 June - 2 July

No after school activities or Flexi-Boarding available this week WEEK HEADER

Year 8 Post CE programme - First Aid Training Day 16:15 Years 2-7 Meet Your Tutor Tea Tuesday 27 June 2017

Year 8 Post CE programme - Maths Challenge 08:30 Year 8 Talk to children and parents: Facts and Dangers of Drugs (Assembly Hall) Bob Tait 09:30 Drugs Information Talk for Year 8 Parents (Assembly Hall) 11:00 Years 5-8 House History Competition 14:45 Kingfishers Prize Giving (Assembly Hall) Lower School Pupils’ and Parents’ Barbecue. Pick up 20:30 18:00 Wednesday 28 June 2017

Digital Health Morning for Years 5, 6 and 7 with Professor Andy Phippen

Year 8 Post CE programme - Visit to Sue Ryder, Leckhampton Court Transition Meeting for parents of children in Reception moving into Year 1 (Library) 08:30 Lower, Middle and Upper School House Aquathlon. Pick up 16:30 13:50 19:30 Drinks Reception for parents of new pupils starting in September (Headmaster's Lawn) Thursday 29 June 2017

ABRSM Music Examinations (Lake House) Year 8 Post CE programme - Drayton Manor Theme Park Trip 08:15 14:00 Kingfishers Cottage Beach Party Staff v Year 8 Leavers Football Match. Pick up 18:00 17:00 Boarders' End of Year Party (Full Boarders only) 18:00 Friday 30 June 2017 15:30 Term ends for children in Kingfishers: no after school care, activities or tea Drinks Reception for parents of leavers (Headmaster's Lawn) 18:30 Saturday 1 July 2017 Parents' Day 09:30 Term ends after Parents' Day 14:00

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NOTICES Happy Birthday to the

following pupils this week!

Parents Day and End of Summer Term Saturday 1 July

Clara Nelson 5 Bella Charlesworth 7

Flo Wheatley 8

Zach Rudin 11 Maxim Murashov

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Keep in touch with us over the summer by following us on Twitter: @cheltprep or on Facebook: facebook.com/ cheltenhamprep

Well done Kingfishers for your fantastic summer performances!

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