Dragon The
Trinity Term 2016
WAR VETERAN ADDRESSES
THE SCHOOL
A Youthful Voice on the
We were delighted to welcome Simon Weston, Falklands War veteran, to our Prize Giving this year. Simon spoke to the pupils about having the courage to stick to your principles and to like yourself. In addition to some witty tales, he talked about his struggle to come to terms with his injuries and the need to never give up. He also urged the children to take their “can do” attitude forward with them in life, and to remember that the only real failure in life is not having a go in the first place - sage words for both our leavers and the younger pupils too.
PREPPERS HOST
Referendum CHERNOBYL CHILDREN
This term, we hosted a delightful group of children from Belarus, to support the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Charity. Mrs Allen organised an exciting day of activities for our visitors, including a DT workshop where our Year 7 children helped the boys and girls to make wooden boxes, and a swimming lesson with our swim coach Miss Pitts. The visiting children were all non-swimmers, and Luke, Peter, Max, Will and Gracie were wonderful, demonstrating, encouraging and boosting the confidence of their buddies. Freddy and Peter Marsden, like so many Preppers, keep a keen eye on current affairs, and the Bremain/Brexit debate certainly caught their interest, to such a degree that they decided to write to The Times. The boys were thrilled to have their letter published. Their missive laid out a very coherent argument for remaining in the EU and also made the point that the people likely to be most affected by the referendum were considered too young to vote.
Summer Art Exhibition Mr V. put on a spectacular display of art, showcasing the talent and passion for the subject throughout all age groups.
Year 5&6 Present... The Peace Child
The children of Year 5 & 6 gave their all in their superb performance of The Peace Child, a moving play about two warring tribes brought together by a courageous gesture. In additon to some wonderful choruses, there were some gems of comedy, such as the eccentric film crew, the stereotypical builders, and the cool bears! The children thrilled the audience with their charismatic acting and choreographed sons, and Dulcie brought a tear to many eyes with her solo “My love, my life�. It was a very memorable evening.
Year 8 enjoy a
GRAND FINALE
Year 8 celebrated the end of their exams with a superb half term of activities. Some of the highlights were the Business Challenge (designing and running stalls at the Summer Fête through which they raised over £550 for Allegra’s Ambition), the grandparents’ cookery morning, winning the Youth Speaks cup, The Globe trip, a robotics workshop, the Prefects’ lunch, “the Spaceman” play, and of course the Brenscombe adventure camp. “Bon voyage” Year 8!
Pre-Prep It has been a remarkably energetic term in Pre-Prep and Nursery, with the excitement of sport, drama, music, art and trips (interspersed with plenty of classroom learning too of course!). It has been a pleasure to watch the children grow both academically and physically, and to feed their insatiable enthusiasm and curiosity.
Pre-Prep present...
Tattybogle
Nursery
Antics
What a busy and fun term, learning about people who help us. Everybody loved our visit to the Fire Station, and trying on the real Police hats. We also enjoyed exploring the gardens, and performing our songs to our parents, all rounded off with the excitement of our sports day.
All A-Board!
Phew! What a fun-packed term our boarders have enjoyed, including den building, BBQs, a camping and night adventure, a visit to Avebury, water sports, country shows, theme parks and beaches. They even hosted their own very alternative Olympic Games!
Musical Notes This was definitely a noisy term! The children enjoyed a Taiko Drumming workshop and seemed to take to it like ducks to water. We were treated to a Summer Music Concert, the orchestral highlight being “The Great Escape” - how appropriate for the start of the half term holiday! Our younger musical protégés had a wonderful afternoon at Sherborne School, where they listened to a mini concert, and learnt about all the different instruments and their idiosyncracies. The children were then invited to have a go at playing numerous instruments. It was lovely to see how some Old Prepper musicians have developed their talents, and the children showed their gratitude for the boys’ kindness and generosity in putting on the event for them.
Sidelines a view from the
Despite the rather wet June, it has been an excellent season for Cricket (both boys and girls) and Rounders (with the girls even braving sleet at the beginning of the season!), and we have also enjoyed some superb Swimming and Athletics successes too. Jai, Ella and Rocco all qualified for the National IAPS Swimming finals, and they all put in brilliant performances, with Ella achieving a PB and Jai winning Gold. We also competed well in the National Schools Baithle, with the Year 6 boys taking Gold, the Year 7 girls and Year 5 boys earning Bronze, and the Year 5 girls also performing well as a team.
In Athletics, we had some super results from the North Dorset trials, with Emily taking Gold in the U13 1500m with a PB of 5:09:59, Florence winning U13 high jump with a PB of 1.30m, and great performances from Harry, Gonzalo and Jai too. At Junior Wessex Ella won Silver in the U11 100m and Oliver took Bronze in the U10 55m hurdles.We also came home with 4 Golds from Senior Wessex, with Emily and Jai qualifying for the Nationals. Emily then came a magnificent 4th place in the National Schools Athletics Championships in Birmingham, competing over 1500m.
Sports Day We celebrated the culmination of the sporting year with Sports Day. After the pomp and cirumstance of the opening parade, the children threw themselves into the events wholeheartedly, cheering on their Houses with gusto, and applauding the efforts of all. Romans emerged as convincing victors, as did the parents, who thrashed the staff in the parent-staff Tug of War!
A FA M I LY AT M O S P H E R E
The Summer Ball
The Summer FÊte - Fun Fun Fun