Prep for the Week - Spring Week 12

Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1920 – 29 March 2019

That was the week that was...

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1920 29 March 2019

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Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1920 – 29 March 2019

Cheltenham Prep has joined the world of Instagram! Make sure you are following us (instagram.com/cheltprep) to keep up to date with all of the fun things going on...

Included in this week’s issue…

• Kingfishers Update • Lower School News • Boarding House Update • History News • Sports Update • Birthday Announcements • Scooby Awards Prep for The Week Issue Number 1920 29 March 2019

And finally...

Don’t miss Mr O’Sullivan’s take on this week. His Week 12 blog can be found at the back of this week’s edition.

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Kingfishers Update Kings and Queens

Keep up to date Make sure you’re following Kingfishers on twitter (@CheltKingfisher) to keep up to date with all of the latest activities we’re getting up to!

Year 1 and Year 2 rounded off their Kings and Queens topic in fine style this week with a celebratory Medieval banquet. The boys and girls spent the morning making their bread and also their apple pudding to complement the authentic meat stew and punch kindly made by our catering staff. We decided that it was the year 1498 when Henry 7th was on the throne. Half way through our banquet some Year 2 girls sang Greensleeves for our entertainment and afterwards everybody had a bit of a lie down to digest their food.

We rounded off the day by learning some traditional playground games together.

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Lower School News Whether it was revising for spelling tests, writing play scripts for fables and acting them out or Maths and data handling, hard work continued right the way through the week in Lower School.

Keep up to date Make sure you’re following Lower School on twitter (@CheltPrepLower) to keep up to date with all of the latest activities we’re getting up to!

Year 3 had great fun this week. As part of their data handling, the class were asked to investigate which colour sweet there were more of in a packet of Skittles.

Enthusiastically, everyone got busy, opening sorting and counting all the different colours.

Using their skills of prediction, creating frequency tables and tally charts the pupils were able to record carefully the number of each colour of sweet. It was very tempting to try a few of the favourites but everyone managed to resist so that they could make accurate bar graphs of their findings.

Can you guess which colour sweet there was more of?

We will soon be sending out information regarding Transition Activities for Year 2s coming to Year 3 and Year 4s moving on to Year 5. We look forward to helping everyone on to the next step of their learning journey through a range of introductory events.

In the meantime, happy holiday from all of Lower School.

Lower School recently took part in the global ‘March Maths Challenge’, which involved competitive maths using the Mathletics application. The pupils responded amazingly and have achieved some extremely high scores for their efforts. Throughout the week, some of our pupils managed to get in to the Top 10 in the country, including the Top in the World at one point, and all of the classes were in the Top 38 in the World – this is an incredible achievement. The week was a lot of fun and Mathletics have just announced the results; Cheltenham Prep Lower School finished 27th in the World, achieving a pupil average of 2198 points per pupils. Well done to everyone who took part.

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Boarding House Update The Boarders enjoyed a relaxed final weekend of Term with time to recharge before the final week.

Those not involved in the Wizard of Oz headed out for an afternoon of Bowling on Sunday. We also enjoyed the beautiful weather, making the most of it on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

On Tuesday evening the winners of the ‘Star Treat’ chose to go for a meal at Pizza Express, great job on collecting so many Boarding House Stars this term everyone. We are also so proud of all the Year 7 and 8 Boarders who have worked so hard and performed wonderfully in the Wizard of Oz. We hope everyone has a lovely rest over the Easter Break.

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History News Year 7 History Trip to Kent In the Autumn Term, Year 7 started by looking at 1066 and the events surrounding this pivotal year in British History.

From here pupils have moved on to study William the Conqueror’s reign in more detail followed by an examination of William’s sons and the Civil War known as ‘The Anarchy’. Investigation then turned to Henry II’s rise and fall, as well as his well-documented arguments with his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. This is an incredibly interesting period of history and trips help to consolidate the pupils’ learning and bring the stories to life.

On Thursday 7 March, Year 7 set off to Canterbury, where pupils were guided round the Cathedral and shown where Becket was murdered on the spot, on the alleged orders of King Henry II, by four knights eager to impress their king. As well as this their was an opportunity to learn about the rich history that the most important church building in England offers. From the Cathedral, our next stop was back into Canterbury for what can only be described as a ‘pizza-fest’ in Pizza Express.

The next morning the trip reached the headline act of Hastings. Set in the town of ‘Battle’, the 1066 Centre is home to the world famous battlefield that changed the course of English history; even our current monarch is a descendant of the victor, William the Conqueror. Seeing the battlefield first hand gave an experience that is not possible to convey in writing or speech. The scale and magnitude of the battlefield really brought perspective to the young historians on their quest for the truth.

Historically speaking, it was an essential piece of the ‘History Jigsaw’ that the History Department has put together for Upper School, however, it was also an extremely enjoyable trip due to the company and exemplary behaviour from the pupils. There were many extremely positive comments throughout the two days praising the conduct of the Year 7s but also their intellectual intrigue.

My sincere thanks must go to the staff who accompanied the trip, but also to those who helped organise the logistics and make the trip happen, it would not have been possible without such a team effort.

Mr Baird, Head of History

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History News Townsend-Warner History Prize 2019 This year 27 Cheltenham College Prep pupils entered the Townsend-Warner History Prize, a record number of entries from The Prep. There were representatives from all four Year 8 History sets and also a number of enthusiastic Year 7s.

The competition is over 125 years old and is one of the oldest institutions in the preparatory school world. The Prize consists of two papers. The first has 100 questions demanding one-word, or one-sentence, answers from world history, but with a strong emphasis on British history. The second paper is in the form of essay questions, but allows candidates a very wide choice so that they can write on what they know, but also show analytical skill and historical imagination.

This year four candidates qualified to sit Paper 2: • Thomas S scored 56/100 and came 79th nationally • Finn K scored 53/100 and came 105th nationally • Felix W scored 46/100 and came 176th nationally • Molly R scored 45/100 and came 193rd nationally This is the first time that The Prep have had four candidates in the Top 250 and that two Year 7 pupils from The Prep have been in the Top 250. Molly R is also the first girl from The Prep to reach the Top 250!

Paper 2 was incredibly challenging, asking for effectively five ‘mini essays’ within two hours and all four pupils performed exceptionally: • Thomas S scored 70/100 in Paper 2 and ended 71st overall • Finn K scored 68/100 in Paper 2 and ended 96th overall • Molly R scored 72/100 in Paper 2 and ended 129th overall • Felix W scored 62/100 in Paper 2 and ended 195th overall These are magnificent results in a national competition, against some of the top prep schools in the country. The quality of their written work clearly showed due to the high scores and positions gained within the Top 250 as a result of the second paper.

Congratulations again to all the pupils who entered and especially to Thomas, Finn, Molly and Felix.

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2019 - Our Year of Reading

Accelerated Reading Congratulations to Maya F who has achieved her AR Bronze Award Certificate with over 250 points on her book quizzes!

This week’s Caught You Reading Winner is...

Nick N

Reader of the Week Congratulations to this week’s Reader of the Week... Daniel R

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1920 29 March 2019

Each week, staff in the English department, together with Miss Richardson, our Librarian, nominate one pupil who has made particular progress with, or shown genuine commitment to, their private reading.

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Pupils at the Prep seem to love Accelerated Reader! Collectively,

our pupils in Years 5-7 have now read over 82

million words and successfully passed over 2,300 book quizzes between them since the program was launched in September. We now have an

impressive 16 members of the prestigious ‘Millionaires Club’, all

of whom have individually read over a million words in Accelerated Reader books since September. A million words is

certainly an impressive achievement, but six of our pupils have gone one better and are now Double

Word Millionaires. However,

particular praise must go to three talented pupils who have become

our first ever Triple Word Millionaires! Our pupils are certainly keeping Miss Richardson busy in the Library!

As part of our continuing celebration of our 2019 Year of Reading, we recently introduced

Bronze, Silver and Gold Reading

Awards for our highest achieving readers, and I am delighted to report that six of our pupils have already received Bronze Awards for attaining 250 points on Accelerated Reader quizzes – an impressive achievement! The race is on to see who will be the first to achieve the Silver Award – there is a lot of competition!

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The contest to see which House is meeting the most reading targets also continues, and as we approach the half term break, Troy House holds a slender lead over Athens, closely followed by Rome House.

The incredible response to Accelerated Reader across all three year groups continues at pace, ably supported by the efforts of Miss Richardson and the English department in engaging our young readers. We would also like to thank all those parents who continue to encourage their children at home with their reading; the strengths of Accelerated Reader very much depend on a successful partnership between the school and home.

The Easter Holiday Reading Challenge To maintain this excellent progress with reading over the Easter holiday, we are encouraging all our pupils from Year 3 right up to Year 8 to continue to read as much as possible in their spare time, and for this to be recorded in their Reading Record booklets, which all pupils have been given. Each member of the English department and the Lower School team will have some special prizes to award to the pupils in their classes who have made the most progress with their reading over the Easter holiday.

How Can Parents Help?

1. Firstly, do please continue to support your children with their reading whenever possible: the more they read, the better! If you’re ever in need of ideas for excellent books to borrow or buy, we really recommend https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk – it has some fantastic suggestions for books which are split into different age categories and genres. You may also find the Accelerated Reader Bookfinder website useful when searching for books for your children: http://www.arbookfind.co.uk The Prep for The Week Issue Number 1920 29 March 2019

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website offers an Advanced Search option which allows you to refine your search in detail.

2. Secondly, please do ask to see your children’s Reading Record on a regular basis. Talk to them about the reading, and even better, read with them, or allow them to read aloud to you or other members of the family.

3. Lastly, please sign your children’s Reading Record at least once before they return to school after the three-week break.

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STEM Club Flying Start Challenge Grand Final Having qualified at the Regional competition last month at Safran Landing Systems our STEM club members have been eagerly anticipating the trip to the Grand Final to enter their glider in the Fly-off against a range of schools from across the South of England. The day was worth waiting for. The pupils participated in a range of engineering activities including designing a space landing pod using marshmallows and straws, a balloon propelled vehicle and an earthquake proof tower. They had a fantastic guided tour of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, climbing on board Sea King helicopters and exploring Concorde. Then the serious business started with a group presentation of their glider design to senior executives from the sponsoring engineering firms and then the fly-off. Toby launched the glider on the run way and it flew so far the audience gasped their approval. A great day had by all!

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IAPS Skiing Success Early in the morning Sunday 10 March, wrapped up in fluorescent orange team hoodies, our fledgling ski racing team set off to Passe de Tonale in Italy to take part in the 2019 IAPS Ski Championships.

Eleven Prep pupils from Years 5-7 participated in a week of intensive training culminating in a Giant Slalom race against 317 competitors from other 30 independent schools across the UK. In stunning skiing conditions, our boys performed brilliantly both on and off the racecourse. They showed incredible skill, determination and courage in tackling a challenging, icy racecourse. Cheltenham Prep placed two competitors in the top 25 children, which is a fantastic result considering this is the first time we have entered the competition. Joey, in Year 5, was placed 17th, which was a very impressive performance considering he was competing against pupils across all age groups up to Year 8. It was a fantastic week, with excellent entertainment laid on by the flamboyant Bulferetti family who hosted all the competitors incredibly generously in their hotels.

Thank you to the team of parents who came out to Italy to support their children. It was a great event and fantastic foundation for our ski team to build on next year.

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Sport Update Girls’ Team of the Week: Staff Netball Following on from the defeat by the pupils in the hockey term, the staff were out for revenge in the annual netball match! Clearly in their comfort zone, the staff dominated the match but the girls didn’t let it all go one way and came back with some fantastic goals after end to end play. Well done to all the girls and staff involved and also to the spectators for paying a small entry fee to raise money for Winston’s Wish.

Boys’ Team(s) of the Week...

This was a tough one…the 4th VII win over Beaudesert completed an amazing unbeaten season for them. The U8s played superbly in their first hockey festival and the U11A went to the Regional Finals at Millfield, losing in the semi-finals, but leaving them as one of the top four hockey teams in the South West of England. Too tough to call – everybody in the school deserves recognition for their efforts in a very busy term, so a pat on the back all round. Have a good break and practice your bowling for Cricket next term!

Boys’ Football Results U10A vs Beaudesert Lost 4 - 7 U10B vs Beaudesert Lost 1 - 4 U10C vs Beaudesert Won 2 - 1 U9A vs Beaudesert Drew 2 - 2 U9B vs Beaudesert Lost 0 - 2

Boys’ Hockey Results 1st VII vs Beaudesert Won 7 - 3 2nd VII vs Beaudesert Lost 0 - 3 3rd VII vs Beaudesert Won 3 - 0 4th VII vs Beaudesert Won 5 - 1 5th VII vs Beaudesert Won 5 - 1 6th VII vs Beaudesert Lost 0 - 3 U11A vs Beaudesert Won 8 - 2 U11B vs Beaudesert Won 1 - 0 U11C vs Beaudesert Won 3 - 2 The U11As also reached the semi-finals of the West of England Finals. Well done boys!

U13A vs Prior Park Won 8 - 2 U13B vs Prior Park Won 3 - 1 U13C vs Prior Park Lost 1 - 2 U12A vs Prior Park Lost 1 - 2 U12B vs Prior Park Drew 1 -1 U11A vs Kings Gloucester Won 5 - 3 U11B vs Kings Gloucester Lost 3 - 4 U11C vs Kings Gloucester Lost 2 - 3

Middle School House Netball Results 1 - Troy T2 - Sparta & Corinth 4 - Persia 5 - Rome 6 - Athens Staff vs Pupils Staff won 23 - 15

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Sport Update Fantastic achievements at the English Schools’ Cross-Country Championships Three of our runners had qualified to represent Gloucestershire in the cross-country season’s showpiece event, the English Schools’ Championships, which took place in Loughborough on Saturday. Just getting there is a great achievement but they all had a wonderful race competing against the very best in the country in their age group.

Tilda B came 53rd out of 412 Isla-Rose E came 125th out of 220 Max CH came 124th put of 220 Tilda was also part of the Gloucestershire team that won the Silver medal for being the second-best county in the country. A huge well done to all and a great way to end a most successful cross-country season.

Future Gymnastics Star!

Congratulations to Scarlett G who took part in the Southwest Tumbling Competition over the weekend and finished up in first place!

She will now compete for the South West squad, a fantastic achievement!

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Scooby Awards Congratulations to the following pupils who have earned 25 pluses this term:

• Oscar L

• William M

• Jayke N

• Sky J

• Cindy P

And well done to the following pupils who have already reached 50 pluses this term!

• Dameli A • Theo A • Freya B • Maya C • Jack F • Sophia G

• Frederick H • Star J • Angela N • Livvie R • Ronan T • Michael W

Congratulations

• Thomas C • Ollie C • Sean D • Tobias E • Virginia M

to

• Ryan N • Lula R • Polina S • Florence W • Theodora W

Congratulations

• Sam A • Georgia B • Penelope C

the

to

the

• Jack E • Lily E • Sofia G

• Freddie B • Bella C • Beatrice C • Alfie C • Matilda C • Daisy dQA

• Hector E • Lily F • Ben G • Scarlet G • Tula L-H • Sophia M

following pupils 75 pluses:

• Evie W • Tilda B • Annabelle B • Apollinaire C • Eva C following pupils 100 pluses:

who

• Jason R • Ava R • Thomas S

have

• Amelia D • Jasper H • Eme H • Olivia L • Eva L

• Hattie L • Aoife M • Joanna R

who

now

reached

• Finlay M-K • Isabella O

have

now

reached

• Tiger S • Maddi G • Edward D

A massive congratulations to Freddie A, Henry B, Isabel C and Lawrence Y who have now received their 125th plus of the term.

Well done to Ava B and Almo P who have done brilliantly to reach 150 pluses in such a short term. Finally, congratulations to Jerome Y who now has over 200 pluses, an incredible achievement!

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Notices Happy birthday to the following pupils who have their birthdays over the holidays and in the first week of next term:

• Sarah A (11) • Lily R (11) • Teddy B (13) • Amelia J (13) • Martha K (8) • Charles M (12) • Beatrix T (9) • Jasmine W (8) • Xanthe H (12) • Daisy dQA (9) • Hector E (11) • Joanna R (11) • Maddi G (13) • Benjamin A (10)

• Annabelle B (9) • Zac M (10) • Kitty C (9) • Jules H (11) • Craig S (11) • Eva T (8) • Thomas S (12) • Freya J (5) • Harriet B (7) • Hannah D (11) • Sebastian F-D (12) • Michael W (10) • Lulu H (7)

• Tibault K (8) • Eme H (11) • Luiza M (4) • Phoenix H (6) • Thomas H (13)

Wizard of Oz Success We hope all who attended this week’s performances of the Wizard of Oz enjoyed themselves.

Look out for a big spread of the best pictures in the first edition of next term!

Don’t forget, the first Friends of The Prep Coffee Morning of next term will be held on Friday 10 May at 8.00am in the Homfray Room.

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And finally...

Dear Parents As another term draws to an end we have very definitely left the long, dark nights behind us, the aroma of cut grass is already in the air and Summer is undoubtedly on its way. Those long glorious (hopefully not lazy!) sun filled days will make for the happiest and most fulfilled of terms, notwithstanding quite a lot of work takes place too!

The Spring Term could not have had a better finish. The Wizard of Oz was an extraordinary triumph. The talent, energy, poise and enthusiasm on show was obvious to the two packed houses that got to appreciate this classic production. It is hard to imagine, unless you have produced a show, just how much it dominates your life. You fall asleep thinking about costumes, you wake up thinking about props - it really is all encompassing. I really would, therefore, like to express my enormous thanks to Mrs Douglas, Mr Perona-Wright, Mr Webber and Mrs Jevons (as well as a stellar list of support staff ) whose commitment and inspiration allowed the children to produce the outstanding show that they did. It will live long in the memory and I’m sure we’ll all still be humming ‘We’re off to see the Wizard ….’ by the time we return after Easter.

Enjoy the holidays, I hope everyone has a really good rest and don’t eat too many Easter eggs!

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Prep Survey 2019 Last week I sent out a Clarion containing a link to our new Parents’ Feedback survey. Thank you very much to all of you who have already filled out the survey.

The cumulative views of parents, pupils and staff will be used to help inform our planning for the future direction of The Prep. If you haven’t already done so, could I ask that you please try and find five minutes over the weekend to complete the survey. We will draw out one lucky respondent who will win a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates.

Good luck!

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Summer Term Week 1 Calendar Week 16 22/4/19 - 28/4/19 Tue - 23/4/19 Week 1 (28) 23 - 28 April 17:00

Boarders return, latest return 17:45

18:00

Boarders' Tea

Wed - 24/4/19 Nursery and Reception St George's Day Celebration Years 1 and 2 Topic Launch Day: Oh We Do Like to be Beside the Seaside!

08:00

Term begins: normal collection times and after school care available until 18:00

08:15

Years 3-8 children report to classrooms

08:40

Kingfishers children report to classrooms (Nursery 09:00)

13:30

Departure for Rowing Squad. Pick up 16:20

13:30

Year 4, Middle and Upper School Cricket Trials. Pick up 16:20

14:00

Middle School Cricket Trials. Pick up 16:20

14:00

Tennis Trials for Years 4, 7 and 8. Pick up 16:20

Thu - 25/4/19 10:00

Bake with Jake: A pre-4s experience

17:00

Prep School Decathlon Week 1. Pick up 18:00

Fri - 26/4/19 Nursery and Reception Topic Launch: Out of this World 08:00

Transition Coffee Morning for parents of children in Year 2 (Lower School)*

09:00

Fun Friday Pre-3s Stay and Play (Nursery)

14:20

Chapel*

15:45

Transition to Upper School and Entrance to College Information Meeting for Year 5 Parents (Assembly Hall)*

Sat - 27/4/19 09:00

Super Saturday: Board Games Bonanza with Mrs Reeves. Pick

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Summer Term Week 1 Calendar

up 10:30 10:00

Departure for Rowing Squad. Pick up 12:15

10:00

Internal Cricket Fixture (H): 2nd XI, 3rd XI, U10A XI, Colts C XI. Pick up 13:00

10:00

Optional Cricket Nets (H): 4th XI, Colts D XI, Colts E XI. Pick up 11:30

10:00

Middle School Tennis Trials. Pick up 11:30

10:00

Upper School Cricket Trials. Pick up 12:00

10:00

Optional Cricket Nets (H): Lower School. Pick up 11:30

11:00

Cricket v Cheltenham District (H): 1st XI, U11A. Pick up 15:00

Sun - 28/4/19 13:00

Boarders' Paintballing

13:00

Boarders' Trip to Go Ape

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Mr O’Sullivan invites you to join in the fun at the...

PARENTS’ CRICKET AND TENNIS TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY 9 JUNE If you would like to enter the Doubles Tennis tournament, please contact Lucy Hill on lucy24bennerley@yahoo.co.uk Don’t worry, you don’t need to have a doubles partner - this is a friendly tournament where partners swap after each match!

If you are a cricketer and wish to participate, please contact Andrew Hill on hillybilly67@me.com A delicious match tea will be served at 15.30.

Thank you and we really hope you can come, the event will be a lot of fun!

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