Kingswood Prep In Focus 2018/19 by Kingswood School

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS

2018/19

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | CONTENTS

CONTENTS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

CONTENTS

Editor: George Gardiner (Marketing and Communications Officer)

Headmasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Welcome

A message from the Chaplain

Charity

Nursery Babies

Nursery Toddlers

Pre-School

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year 6 Leavers

Boarding at KPS

English

Maths

Science

Pre-Prep DT and Engineering in STEAM

Art

Drama

Music

Sport

Humanities

MFL and Languages Day

STEAM Overview

Pastoral and Wellbeing

Trips and Visits

Friends of Kingswood Prep School

Co-curricular Activities

Challenge and Enrichment

KPS Active Club

Staff Hellos and Goodbyes

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | HEADMASTER'S WELCOME

HEADMASTER’S WELCOME to go to school in such a natural and beautiful environment.

t KPS we have had a momentous year in terms of the development of our site. We have been able to create facilities second to none in our sector of the market, thanks to the Governors and Simon Morris (Head of the Kingswood Foundation), who have significantly invested in our school, and to some extremely kind and generous benefactors. Our thanks to the Baines family, Tudor Brown and all the other benefactors who gave so generously - we could not have done it without you! We are truly blessed to have a site so leafy that it feels like a country prep school, but with such easy access to the city and the M4 corridor. Our children are indeed incredibly lucky

New for 2018-2019 was “The Garden at Kingswood”, which provided a new home for babies, toddlers and our Pre-School. Over the year, numbers have grown rapidly as parents very quickly realised its potential to provide the very finest care for our youngest children. We added new classrooms for Reception, so that the whole Early Years Foundation Stage was situated in one place. Excellent new staff were employed, who added their skills to the care and education of the children. It is very much a ‘school-based’ experience; as well as using all the grounds and facilities, the Pre-School enjoys swimming and languages, as well as benefiting from KPS’s expertise in PE, numeracy, phonics, music and art. This richness adds real breadth to the School day for the children in preparation for their first year in Reception. Mrs Wintermei and Mrs Hyslop continue to do a fantastic job in Reception, with a resulting growth in the children’s confidence; some of the work our 4/5 year-olds have produced this year has been truly outstanding.

In July, we moved out of 1 Sion Hill Place and the Summerhill Mansion Rooms underwent a major facelift and redecoration. Small classrooms and facilities spread over four floors were replaced with light, bright, spacious classrooms for Years 5/6. We also built the Association Hall, which meant that we could all sit together comfortably as a school and have a multi-purpose space for performance, PE and our extensive activity programme. Attached to this is a new Music Room with adjacent practice rooms, forming a Music Hub. We now have over 250 children playing musical instruments and enjoying orchestra and our various choirs. We have created a new STEAM area, It is very much which is a ‘school-based’ led by Mr experience... Murphy. For the first, time Science has a designated space; Mr Hopwood is leading our Science department and is really galvanising interest in this area. Mrs Fox is delighted with her Art space, which now has a kiln in the adjoining room. She continues to inspire our budding artists and Art remains a favourite curriculum area for so many of our children. Engineering, technology, computing, robotics, programming and design

HEADMASTER'S WELCOME | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

take place in two large rooms within our new build. Significant hard work has gone into reorganising the curriculum and timetable to enable all children to benefit from this area of school life. The workplace is changing, with technical, higherlevel thinking, and problem-solving skills at a premium, along with communication, teamwork, creative thinking, presentation skills and a growth mind-set. Our STEAM area will enable children to be the multi-faceted, creative scientists and engineers of the future… how exciting!

constantly searching to provide the very best experience for our children.

As a school, we naturally have high academic expectations, but we actively seek to remove pressure and anxiety from children’s learning to provide a wide range of opportunities for them all to excel in and out of the classroom. We are in the job of creating real all-rounders, who by the age of 11 have a diverse range of skills and are full of confidence in what they can achieve in all areas of school life. Music, Art, Sport, Performing Arts are just as valuable as the traditional academic subjects; what is important is the type of young person our children are growing into - grounded, respectful, ...“an ounce of kind, with a ‘can do’ love is worth attitude, and believing that a pound of nothing worthwhile is ever knowledge.” achieved without hard work.

All the moves into the new buildings have created a bespoke space for Performing Arts, which has delighted Mrs McGlynn and Miss Birchall, who do a tremendous job teaching stage craft and dramatic performance to our children.

The whole campus is calmer and my Senior Team are working so hard to ensure that our school runs smoothly, given that we are a busy and fast-evolving school, a school which is not complacent and is

I hope that this magazine gives you a real flavour of the energy and vibrancy of our school. The key is inspirational teachers and staff, who are prepared to go the extra mile for the children. We are very proud of our roots and our ethos reflects John Wesley’s fundamental vision to value the individuality of every child: “an ounce of love is

worth a pound of knowledge.” We aim to inspire children to do all the good they can, in all the ways they can. Getting the foundations right is the secret to future success in secondary education and beyond. We are working very hard on the children’s wellbeing and encouraging them to talk to us. Having the confidence to freely and openly discuss their feelings about their learning and skills outside the classroom is crucial to their future success. At KPS we focus on what the children can do – which is plenty! Helen Worrall, my Deputy Head, is quite brilliantly leading the pastoral care and wellbeing of our children, which are so fundamental to all that we do. As a school, we are not perfect; we do make mistakes, but we have a growth mind-set, learning from our errors and constantly seeking to improve our provision for the children. I really hope that you will enjoy sifting through the pages of the magazine and that it gives you a flavour of the love, commitment and fun we have on a daily basis. Yours,

Mark Brearey

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPLAIN

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAPLAIN I always find it great fun to discuss life’s ultimate questions with our pupils and I’m often impressed by how deeply they think about such issues.

ne question that always generates a great deal of imaginative and thoughtful discussion amongst our older pupils in the Prep School is, ‘What do you think God is?’ I’m glad to say that Kingswood’s honourable tradition of free thinking continues unabated to this day! The claim of the New Testament is that God has introduced himself to us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the question for Christians isn’t about dreaming up speculative ideas, but discovering what Jesus reveals about God. One incident from the life of Jesus that radically shines a light on the nature of God occurred when parents tried to bring their young

children to Jesus for him to bless them. The disciples spoke sternly to the parents and tried to turn them away. Busy people with important work to do often don’t like to be interrupted. Jesus, however, was indignant with the disciples, invited the parents to come, and blessed their children.

pupils to engage with deeply and thoughtfully in the early years of their own pilgrimage through life.

Kingswood School’s crest contains twelve scallop shells. It is the crest used by the family of John Wesley, our founder. Scallop shells in a family crest show that one of the forebears undertook a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, Who would ever the Way of St James. have thought ‘What do you The scallop shell, which that God would think God is?’ frequently washes up on be like a dustythe beaches of the area, has footed carpenter become its symbol, a symbol who welcomed little of pilgrimage. children and blessed them? Yet that is the claim of It is, therefore, a fitting symbol for a the Gospels. Who would ever have school, because here we undertake thought that God would be like a a pilgrimage of learning, not man who died on a cross out of love only towards the development of for the people he has made, intellectual knowledge, as important and rose to life again with as that is, but also towards victorious power? wholeness and fullness of life. It is concepts such as It is a pilgrimage on which our pupils these that have shaped the take early steps whilst they are with development of our nation’s us and we hope that here they will culture for centuries. They discover something of substance to have shaped the Kingswood guide them their whole lives long. community from its foundation to this day, and these are the The Revd David A. Hull (Chaplain) concepts we encourage our

CHARITY | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

CHARITY 2018/19 The Charity Commissioners have, again, done a superb job this year.

his year's charity was very special to Priya, who visited India as part of her parent’s sabbatical in the Easter Term. She was able to send photographs and clips home as to how the money was being spent. The charity has really benefitted from your generosity and is making a real difference to the young lives of girls in this region. Thank you. I would like to personally thank Priya, Sophia, Tom and Henry for all their hard work this year.

PARDADA PARDADI This year, the Charity Commissioners have been raising money for a charity called ‘Pardada Pardadi’. Pardada Pardadi is a charity for girls between the age of 5-18 in rural India who aren’t so lucky and don’t get an education. This charity was opened by an incredible man named Sam Singh 20 years ago. During the Spring Term, Priya and her family went to rural India to visit the school and help to improve the facilities and hygiene there. They also taught some of the younger children English nursery rhymes.

These are some of things we have done to raise money for the charity so far: •

Priya has made chutney, jam and pesto to sell in pots.

•

Sophia did an open-water triathlon at Bowood.

•

Mani cycled from Bath to Bristol and back again in a day which was 31 miles in total.

•

Amelie cut off her long hair and donated it to the little princess charity.

Thank you! Keep donating!

Mark Brearey (Headmaster)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | NURSERY BABIES

NURSERY BABIES In the Baby Room, we always enjoy lots of sensory play including coloured rice, gloop, porridge oats, water and play-dough.

he children are able to explore using all of their senses, often including taste!

The children enjoy lots of social routine times where we all sing and dance using musical instruments, sharing mealtimes together and having the opportunity to talk and share social interactions.

The babies love being outdoors in the garden and going on walks in the local school community. We are able to explore the magical woodland environment and to observe the wildlife and flowers. The children have the opportunity to run, climb and play with the balls, and to practise those very first steps with us.

Anna Ballanger (Head of The Garden / Head of EYFS)

The children enjoy lots of social routine times where we all sing and dance...

NURSERY BABIES | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

We are able to explore the magical woodland environment...

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | NURSERY TODDLERS

NURSERY TODDLERS In September, we welcomed in the children to The Garden Nursery at Kingswood and what an adventure the children have had over the year.

s the nursery was new, the children were fascinated by what was happening around them. They were captivated by the workmen and really enjoyed watching and looking at the diggers and tractors. This sparked a huge interest in transport and how and why things work, and we were able to bring the interest of the outside inside the classroom.

The exploration of the world did not stop there, and over the year the children had the opportunity to go on long walks in the field where they could run and climb on fallen down trees, and smell and touch different textures.

This sparked a huge interest in transport and how and why things work...

They have also been developing their gross motor skills by playing in the Adventure Playground and have had regular PE lessons, where they have been refining and strengthening these skills through doing numerous turn taking activities.

NURSERY TODDLERS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

2018-19 Throughout the year, the children have taken an interest in the changing of the seasons and enjoyed finding objects such as conkers and leaves outside.

ith the change in weather, the children were shown how to put their coat on independently and can now do it on their own. They loved getting to know our baby chicks in the spring and watching them grow into our pet chickens.

Throughout the year, the children also had a wonderful opportunity to learn Spanish with Miss Katherine, as well as Art with Mrs Fox. In Spanish, they were introduced to different topics through singing songs and playing games. In Art, Mrs Fox gave the children the opportunity to experiment with different materials and textures. Over the year the children also had the opportunity to join in with Remembrance Day celebrations where they placed a wooden cross commemorating 100 years. They also enjoyed the Father Christmas breakfast at Christmas, World Book Day and the Teddy Bears' Picnic in the Summer Term.

Anna Ballanger (Head of The Garden / Head of EYFS)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | PRE-SCHOOL

PRE-SCHOOL Our Pre-School children have had a fabulous year in their beautiful new nursery environment.

t has been wonderful to see the children develop some lovely friendships over the year, and to watch them explore the rest of the Prep School during their enrichment lessons and outdoor play. The children have thrived in their lessons, showing great enthusiasm and ability in a variety of activities. They have enjoyed Spanish, Music, ICT, Maths, Art, Swimming, PE, Outdoor Learning and Cookery each week. The classroom lessons have enabled all the children to develop their personal skills in turn-taking, attention and listening, as well as increasing their self-confidence.

The children have thrived in their lessons, showing great enthusiasm...

PRE-SCHOOL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

PRE-SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS We have had some special events which have been very memorable highlights of their year.

he children worked hard to learn songs and dances for their Christmas Nativity performance, performed in the Association Hall to an audience of around 200. They looked wonderful in their various costumes, and managed to hold their nerve in front of such a large crowd. On World Book Day, they also got to dress up, this time as characters from their favourite books. As part of a mini topic on people who help us, we arranged for a fire engine to visit us, and the children got to use the water hose and sit in the cab. They have had some workshops in the KPS Art Studio, making Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crafts, and in the KPS Maths Room each week. During both of these, they have been helped by a team of Year 6 Ambassadors, and it has been lovely to see the older children working with the younger ones. The children have also enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt and celebrated Chinese New Year. We ended the year with an amazing sports afternoon, where they showcased their physical skills to their parents, and a Teddy Bearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picnic.

Anna Ballanger (Head of The Garden / Head of EYFS)

...it has been lovely to see the older children working with the younger ones.

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | RECEPTION

RECEPTION In the Autumn Term, Reception were welcomed to school with the topic “Wonderful Marvellous Me”, where they had a chance to learn about themselves and each other. AUTUMN TERM

tick family bundles were made to represent the love that ties their family unit together. As a class, they explored every sense by going on taste, sight and smell walks. They even sampled fruit from the School gardens, and created their own perfume! The children made and listened to different instruments, and discovered different textures. They loved making porridge with Goldilocks and the Three Bears! After half term, Reception learnt about their bodies from the inside. They made ‘blood’ using natural food products, and an organ model using balloons and straws. At the end of term, the children performed a wonderful Christmas Carol concert in the School Chapel, and enjoyed meeting Father Christmas when he came to visit Kingswood!

After half term, Reception learnt about their bodies from the inside.

SPRING TERM

The next topic, ‘The Arctic and Antarctic’ took the children on an exciting journey to the North and South Pole, where they discovered polar bears and penguins. They learnt about the life of Ernest Shackleton, and his voyage to Antarctica. They built his ship ‘The Endurance’, and made teastained maps of the South Pole. In Art, the children made clay penguins, and chalk polar bears. They also constructed a huge class igloo using foam blocks, pins and glue. Towards the end of term, the children had a chance at becoming ecomonitors around the School, and learnt ten different ways to save Planet Earth!

RECEPTION | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

SUMMER TERM Reception blasted off into space for their final topic "To infinity and beyond". They learnt a planet rap, and made an extensive planet book, including fantastic facts about each of the main planets in our solar system. Next, they put on their space suits and headed out on an intergalactic mission to ‘We the Curious’ in Bristol, where they watched a planetarium show and explored the museum. During their topic time, the children learnt about pressure The children in rockets, and fired enthusiastically their own! They also helped her by made and launched writing ‘Lost’ parachutes when posters... learning about gravity, and turned themselves into astronauts using photos and tin foil! Towards the end of term, a space ship dramatically crashed outside the classroom, bringing news of Beegu, a lost little alien who needed to find her way home. The children enthusiastically helped her by writing ‘Lost’ posters, and pinning them up around school! In Science they made their own alien slime, and in Art they junk modelled rockets and clay friends for Beegu!

Sarah Hyslop (Reception Teacher) and Amy Wintermei (Reception Teacher)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 1

YEAR 1 In the Autumn Term, Year 1 jumped into their first topic, ‘A Walk In The Woods’, with a mysterious message saying that there had been some strange noises coming from the Secret Garden.

hey all made their way into the woods to investigate and found a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, complete with jam tarts and honey sandwiches! The children loved their trip to Westonbirt Arboretum and were also very excited when Hedgehog Rescue made a visit to their classrooms and even got to meet a real, tiny hedgehog! There were some great lessons where the pupils had to create their own shadows of nocturnal creatures using torches and toy bats!

SPRING TERM

Museum and were all fascinated by the plethora of old aeroplanes and machines that were on display. Year 1 ‘visited’ a host of different countries and enjoyed learning about the festivals they celebrate and how they celebrate them; everyone loved trying their own Dragon Dance as part of their learning about Chinese New Year, including some of the teachers!

...the children found an old bag filled with travel items belonging to Phileas Fogg.

The next topic, ‘Up, Up and Away’ gave the children the chance to learn about and compare countries around the world, exploring their different cultures, traditions and what animals live there. The pupils had an exciting start to this topic when they found an old bag filled with travel items belonging to Phileas Fogg! The children also visited Bristol Aerospace

YEAR 1 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

SPRING TERM The pupils dived into their final topic, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Under The Seaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with a trip to Bristol Aquarium and they loved being able to see so many different sea creatures. They learned so many new, amazing facts and were still buzzing with excitement the next day at school! As the term progressed, Year 1 explored the secrets of the sea, from the many different kinds of As the term creatures that live under the waves, progressed, Year 1 to examining explored the secrets evidence for of the sea... Atlantis and deciding if it really exists. The children even got the chance to see and touch a real fish in the classroom and they were fascinated to see and feel the different parts of its body; some of the children were shocked at how slimy it felt! Year 1 have had an amazing year and they have loved exploring their ideas and learning throughout the three topics.

The Year 1 team

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 2

TERRIFIC TIMES IN YEAR 2 Another fantastic year has flown past in Year 2. From making board games with Mrs Wood to enjoying a skulls workshop with Dr. Baumgardt, we have had so much fun!

...trips to Cardiff Castle, M-Shed and Slimbridge Wetland Centre.

e went back in time during our ‘Turrets and Tiaras’ topic, were inspired by the famous inventors in ‘Whizz, Pop, Bang!’ and have learnt about the world around us in our Summer Term topic, ‘Tales from the Riverbank’. We have had trips to Cardiff Castle, M-Shed and Slimbridge Wetland Centre. The children loved performing the Christmas Nativity and were pleased to welcome their families to music concerts, sharing assemblies and to our Design and Technology workshop.

Eleanor Wood (Year 2 Teacher)

“I enjoyed it when Dr. Baumgardt came in to show us the skulls. The alligator skull was my favourite” Helena, 2W

YEAR 2 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

“I enjoyed making a caravan with Auntie Chris in the DT workshop. I made Toad, Ratty and Mole too!”

“This year, I have loved all of the books we have read for Topic, especially ‘Wind in the Willows’ and ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’, because they both have lovely and exciting parts.”

Lola, 2W

Florence, 2B

“I loved all the wind in the willows lessons. Swapping classes around has meant I have met lots of new friends.” Frankie, 2A

“This year, I have loved all of the teachers because they’re always really nice to me. I also really like the times tables work because they are challenging and fun.” Jack, 2B

“I love STEAM because I love Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. I loved making our own houses with lollypop sticks. My favourite thing was making bridges outside – we had to make them safe for Mrs Wood to cross!” Sienna, 2W

“Art lessons were fun making a cool clay dragon.” Charlie, 2A

STEAM was a new subject for us. We made all sorts of models like houses, catapults and the enormous suspension bridge made from paperclips and lollypop sticks. All children, 2A

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 3

A fabulous trip to Cadbury World was a highlight of our term...

YEAR 3 It has been a year full of fun, learning, new discoveries and adventures in Year 3!

he children hit the ground running as they started life in the Prep School, whether moving up from the Pre-Prep or joining us from elsewhere. It is a significant transition for them with lots of new things to get used to (new uniform, STEAM lessons, sports fixtures and a longer school day) and our children have taken every opportunity with both hands, giving their best to all the different areas of school life.

GROWTH MINDSET We teach using cross-curricular topics that incorporate the key knowledge and skills that would traditionally have been taught through discrete subject lessons, starting off in the Autumn Term with ‘Brainwaves’ and ‘Chocolate!’ In

the first couple of weeks of these topics, our focus was on helping the children to understand how their brain works, who they are as learners and fostering a ‘growth mindset’ approach for them to maintain during the year. It was not uncommon to hear a Year 3 child discussing how they are ‘strengthening a neural pathway’ during this unit! The term quickly moved on to the ever-popular Chocolate topic. We created our own wrappers in STEAM, investigated materials and changes of state in Science, and learnt all about how the humble cacao bean has become the chocolate bars we eat today. A fabulous trip to Cadbury World was a highlight of our term, giving the children a great opportunity to see the processes involved.

YEAR 3 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

‘BRIGHT SPARKS’ TOPIC

s we moved into the Spring Term we had a lot of fun learning about electricity, light and magnetism in our ‘Bright Sparks’ topic. The children had a chance to show off their creative side, using their new knowledge and skills to make robots, games and electrical inventions. Alongside this we used our 'Different Places, Similar Lives’ topic to discover all about different people around the world; the children loved finding out about the similarities and differences they have with children their own age. We focused particularly on India and Canada, even exchanging pen pal letters with a class in Banff National Park! The term was rounded off with the residential trip to Magdalen Farm: Orienteering, a campfire, holding chickens, making pizzas and smoothies and an exciting experience away from home made for a wonderful time together. The term was rounded off by the children supporting the Year 4s in their production of ‘What a Knight!’, providing excellent chorus and dance throughout.

YEAR 3 HIGHLIGHTS:

ARCHAEOLOGY IN YEAR 3

Year 3 has been packed full of new experiences and it has been really fantastic to see how the children have matured and developed throughout the year.

Coming back after Easter, the focus switched to all things prehistoric; our learning was based around our ‘Footprints from the Past’ topic. We had fun digging up the field as we practised the skills an archaeologist needs, we created our own mould fossils and investigated what we can learn from what has been left behind from millions of years ago.

They have shown an excellent attitude and we will miss them a lot!

The Year 3 team

By the end of the unit, the children were walking encyclopaedias of all things Jurassic! For the last part of the year, we learnt about the Human Body, helping the children understand how their bodies work and developing their scientific skills.

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 4

YEAR 4

They all made superb profits which we were happy to donate to STEP UK.

It’s been a fun-packed year of learning through experience in Year 4. We have followed our IPC curriculum closely throughout the year, covering topics such as: Active Planet; Feel the Force; and Temples, Tombs and Treasures to name but a few!

hands on experiments. We all loved seeing whose hair would stand up the highest with the Van De Graaff Generator!

The children also had the opportunity to visit the Kingswood Senior School Science Department where they spent a morning learning about static electricity through many different

To tie in with our Young Entrepreneurs topic, Year 4 spent a busy few weeks creating their own small businesses. The children sorted themselves into teams, balancing their skills and creating products to sell to the other children at pocket money prices. All groups worked brilliantly together, cooperating carefully and listening well. They all made superb profits which we were happy to donate to STEP UK.

here have been many highlights. Our Year 4 production of ‘What a Knight!’ was a triumph and the children worked very hard with Miss Birchall and Mrs Cross to polish their performances and learn their lines. We all appreciated the humour and confidence that they brought to the stage; impressive in children so young.

YEAR 4 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

OH! WHAT A KNIGHT! ‘What a Knight!’ was the musical for Years 3 and 4 this year. It told the story of Watt Cobblers, son of the Castle Cook, Princess Alice, who didn’t want to be just pretty and good all the time, and Merlin the Wizard, King Arthur and his knights. With characters such as Bella and Ella Blackhead, Bad Bob and Bad Brian, Dusty the Dragon, Calvin and Klein, Lester Lugabout and Scratch and Sniff the Guards, the musical was filled with fun, cheesy jokes and puns for all! There were many hilarious individual performances and excellent singing and dancing from all of the children.

Jackie Cross (Head of Music)

FANTASTIC FOLLY FARM! The highlight of the year was our residential trip to Folly Farm towards the end of the Summer Term.

It’s amazing how quiet children can be when they really want to!

hanks to the amazing organic bio-diversity at the farm, the children were able to learn more about British wildlife including finding Great Crested Newts and taking part in night-time badger watching. It’s amazing how quiet children can be when they really want to! We were also very well looked after and enjoyed super, yummy food that was in plentiful supply. The children all shone, working in teams and learning through each other. Throughout all the wonderful opportunities and learning experiences the children have enjoyed, the real stars were, as ever, the children themselves. They have raced through the year with enthusiasm and curiosity, and their friendly open-minded natures have made the year a pleasure for us all.

The Year 4 team

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 5

YEAR 5: MILL ON THE BRUE Pupils from Year 5 have come together to give their reflections on their fantastic trip to Mill On The Brue! MIYANSA, 5H “Mill on the Brue was INCREDIBLE!!! It was an amazing experience for me. I learnt lots of things when going to Mill on the Brue like: • How to work together in a team; • How to cooperate; and • How to work with boys and girls. Mill on the Brue shows you the equality between boys and girls.”

AODHAN, 5H “We did loads of activities at Mill on the Brue; my favourites were raft building, tunnelling and the zipline. The most favourite was the zipline because it helped me face my fear of heights. I also think that Mill on the Brue helped me with my bonding skills to work together with new people that I have never played with before.”

HATTIE, 5SG “One of the first things we did in Year 5 was a trip to Mill on the Brue. I got to work with people who I never would have chosen to work with before. I usually miss my family a lot when I go away, but Mill on the Brue helped me understand it is ok and helped me get over any worries that I had. I feel everyone should have an opportunity to go there and have an amazing time just like I did.”

CHARLOTTE, 5SG “One of my favourite things was the zip wire. It was so much fun – when I jumped off the platform, it felt as if I was flying!”

SANTIAGO, 5MG

“It was so much fun - when I jumped off the platform, it felt as if I was flying!”

“I’m going to be writing about the amazing school trip to the fantastic one and only Mill on the Brue.

The crossing of the Bridge of Death was the most terrifying of all the activities and also tense because of the deep cold waters beneath. But the best thing of all was making new friends because now, I’m part of my school and I love my school!”

TOMMY, 5MG

“I have picked Mill on the Brue for my activity because it was loads of fun. It helped me develop because it taught me how to work as a team and have fun. With raft building, I would not have been successful if I hadn’t had help from my friends. It also made me build my confidence because I did things I was a bit scared to do, such as tunnelling.”

YEAR 5 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

A YEAR IN QUOTES JONTY, 5MG "When we went to No. 1, the Royal Crescent, we got up to loads of fun activities. I dressed up as a rich Georgian lady and had to wear a dress and bum pants! I loved that but my favourite thing was the tour. The beds were rock hard and had lead poison bottles on the bedside table. The lead was meant to make women pretty but in fact, it did quite the opposite: their hair would come out!”

TOBY, 5H “I have had a fantastic time in Year 5 with Mrs Harding. We have covered many interesting topics, such as The Great, The Bold, The Brave; The Weather and The Georgians. The topic that particularly stood out for me was Space Explorers. It blew my mind! I loved hearing about the black holes, hot suns and what stars are – there are so many questions which make it really interesting. I learned so much on the day when Jo, the space expert, came in. She was amazing and very knowledgeable; I had so much fun on the VR (Virtual Reality) headset that she brought in. The practical lessons truly brought this topic to life, which made it particularly interesting for me. Thank you Mrs Harding and all of the other Year 5 teachers for a great year!”

ADITI, 5SG “I was never a sporty person in my old school: I came either third or fourth in my races and I had never even heard of hockey. But now, I love sport and am never afraid to challenge my friends to a race! Sport has helped me physically and mentally. I would always think about my homework or my test scores but now I have something to help me release my emotions without speaking.”

BACI, 5MG “When we went pond dipping at the Senior School, I was taught by Mr Allchorne who told us that water beetles of all types have a bubble of air that they breathe from, because water beetles don’t have gills because they live on land as well as water.“

"I had so much fun on the VR (Virtual Reality) headset that she brought in."

FERGUS, 5H “We made a scale model of our solar system using sheets of toilet roll to represent 50,000,000 km per sheet. It was really mind-blowing to find out how many kilometres there are between each planet. Learning about space has made me feel like our world is very tiny and there are much bigger worlds that are yet to be discovered out there in the enormous universe.”

ISLA, 5H “At the start of Year 5, we went on a fun trip to the Roman Baths. When we were there, we saw from outside that it had some columns which were made out of marble. Before we had the tour around, we got an audioguide to help us understand more. It was a great experience and all of the Year 5s enjoyed it. We learnt so much about the Roman Baths and the history behind it. It was a great trip!”

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 6

YEAR 6 It has been an action packed year for Year 6! We have truly worked hard, played hard! WE LOVE DRESSING UP On our Tudor Day this year, all of the children in Year 6 learnt about the Tudor clothing and were given the opportunity to make their costume for the day. Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII even visited Kingswood! The children enjoyed asking and answering questions about the people, politics, religions and everyday life during the Tudor period.

WE LOVE ACTING Year 6 delved into the world of Shakespeare and performed two of his most famous plays; 'Macbeth' and 'Twelfth Night'.

WE LOVE SHARING Throughout the year, we have welcomed the Year 6 parents into our classrooms to celebrate all the wonderful work the children have produced in their books and as part of their classroom displays.

They even made their very own lemon sherbet powder - it was delicious!

YEAR 6 | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

WE LOVE LEARNING Year 6 visited the Senior School Chemistry labs to test acids and bases. They even made their very own lemon sherbet powder - it was delicious! The visit also included lots of explosions, many from Vitamin C tablet and water reactions, which created quite a bang. The children also experienced the 'Whoosh Experiment' where an alcohollined barrel ignited and created a flame that whooshed to the ceiling. It was very exciting!

WE LOVE THE BACCALAUREATE Well done to everyone in Year 6 for working tirelessly on their Baccalaureate boards. The children were required to choose a topic of their choice, research in their own time and design their layout. The Year 6 teachers were very proud of the work, and even more so for presenting their topics to their classes in such a poised and confident manner. It was so lovely to see each and every pupil communicate with such passion and energy! The children also shared their boards and portfolios in the Baccalaureate Exhibition on Friday 28 June – it was lovely for parents and teachers to celebrate their wonderful work!

JOHN WESLEY TRIP

GROWTH MINDSET

Year 6 were treated to a visit to the New Rooms, John Wesley’s first chapel, in Bristol. They learnt about the special founder of our school and also saw Reverend Hull preach in the same place as John Wesley did many years ago.

Year 6 have developed their 'Growth Mindset' learning goals:

Alexandra St. Quintin (Senior Teacher)

•

Co-operation

•

Resilience

•

Creative thinking

•

Independent active learning

•

Enquiry

•

Communication

•

Organisation

•

Adaptability

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | YEAR 6 LEAVERS

Jack, 6H

Theo, 6H

James, 6S

Renissa, 6S

Sofia, 6H

Harry, 6H

Tom, 6H

Ollie, 6H

Harvey, 6H

Sam, 6SQ

Wilf, 6S

Freddie, 6SQ

Ollie, 6SQ

Olly, 6S

Eleanor, 6S

YEAR 6 LEAVERS Arthur, 6SQ

Jamie, 6S

Lila, 6S

Clemmie, 6SQ

Henry, 6S

Maisie, 6H

Priya, 6H

Alethia, 6SQ

George, 6H

Oliver, 6SQ

Charlie, 6SQ

Connie, 6SQ

Beatrice, 6H

Fergus, 6S

Ilya, 6SQ

YEAR 6 LEAVERS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

Rowan, 6SQ

Matt, 6H

Lucy, 6SQ

Emmy, 6H

Ted, 6H

Alex, 6S

Katrin, 6S

Leonie, 6S

Jim, 6S

Chrissie, 6SQ

Ellie, 6H

Iona, 6S

Ryan, 6S

Carlota, 6S

Daniel, 6SQ

2019 George, 6SQ

Tom, 6H

Seb, 6SQ

Rory, 6H

Sam, 6H

Eva, 6S

Harriet, 6SQ

Maddie, 6SQ

Sophia, 6SQ

George, 6S

Harry, 6H

Jack, 6SQ

Beatrix, 6H

Charlie, 6S

Jack, 6S

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | BOARDING AT KPS

POSTCARDS FROM HIGH VINNALLS Towards the end of the 2018/19 academic year, the High Vinnalls boarders wrote postcards to their loved ones about their fantastic experiences at Kingswood Prep! KATRIN Dear Mum and Dad, When I first started boarding I was a bit homesick but now I am ok. On weekends we do lots of fun activities like ‘Clip and Climb’. On Wednesdays we get tuck and every term we have a Theme Night. This term we have been able to go on the grass again. On Sundays we sometimes go to the swimming pool. The breakfast here is so nice and we sometimes have spaghetti hoops. I love the staff at the boarding house and I will miss them all next year. Love from Katrin

ADITI Dear Mum and Dad,

I love the staff at the boarding house and I will miss them all next year.

This year has been like a rollercoaster! The first day was like a shower of fear and courage and now I am really enjoying myself. If there is a day when I do get homesick, there are always people to help me and fix my problems. I especially love Wednesdays and Fridays because Mr and Mrs Ward turn these days into days to be excited about. Film Friday is cool because there are a variety of movies to watch. Honestly, I think I have a really bad sense of movies, so it’s nice to have other people’s opinions to help me out. I hope you are fine and everything is well? xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo Aditi

HARVEY Dear Mum and Dad, I am really loving my time at High Vinnalls – it is great and I am enjoying it so much. The Wacky Wednesdays are really great. I really enjoyed it when we did pub games night and we all got to play Blackjack. I am also happy that we have finally got back our massive field as it is a great place to play on in the evenings. Some evenings we get to watch a movie. Every morning Jenny cooks the best breakfast – it is always really delicious. Love from Harvey

BOARDING AT KPS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

BELLA Dear Mummy, I have fun on the weekends, like when I went to the zoo. We now have the grass to play on. We play cricket, netball and hockey. I feel homesick sometimes and I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see you. How is everyone? I miss them. Love from Bella

JACK Dear Mum and Dad, I have had a great time at the boarding house and I have made a lot of friends. I remember that when I first started boarding I missed home a lot. The food here is very good, breakfast is cereal as well as a cooked breakfast like eggs or beans. At the weekend we do a lot of fun activities such as climbing, swimming, going into the woods and watching movies. Love from Jack

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | BOARDING AT KPS

CARLOTA Dear Mum and Dad, I have had a great year at the boarding house. I played a lot with my friends and I played lots of sports - my favourite one is hockey. The food here is not as nice as yours, I really miss Spanish food. I’m really excited to go back to Spain but I’m going to miss Kingswood a lot! The boarding house is so much better than I thought last year when I was about to come to England, we always do fun things! I have made lots of friends that I will miss next year. I’m really excited for the summer holidays and to spend all the time with you. I’ll see you in a few weeks. Love from Carlota

VIVAAN Dear Mum and Dad, I am having so much fun at High Vinnalls. I feel happy and I’m way more confident about boarding than at the start of the year. I am loving the food in the morning and at supper. I especially like the lasagne. This year I have spent a lot of my free time outside on the new grass usually playing football and cricket. I also like the staff in the boarding house – they’re great. I am loving High Vinnalls, but I do miss you lots. Love from Vivaan

BOARDING AT KPS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

MIYANSA Dear Mum and Dad, I am having the best year at High Vinnalls. The food is really nice and delicious. When I first started boarding I felt very nervous, but I have grown to like the place. Sometimes I feel homesick but the staff and all of my friends help me feel better. We play outside sometimes and we play cricket. Jenny the breakfast chef cooks breakfast, and sometimes Gemma and Dawn do it as well! Sometimes I have trouble sleeping, but we have lots of audiobooks that we can listen to at bedtime to help us relax and fall asleep. Overall, I love boarding! From, Miyansa

LEXI Dear Mummy,

I am having the best year at High Vinnalls. The food is really nice and delicious.

This year has been really good. At first when I came to High Vinnalls I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that nervous because reading the Harry Potter books, I thought boarding was cool. Although when I arrived it was totally different â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no magic or evil overlords, just some house parents! I got used to them and have made really strong bonds. I am a full boarder and this year has been the best, because of the opportunities and activities I have experienced. I have also done some things at school which are kind of once in a lifetime experiences like IAPS swimming and going to Mill On The Brue. Love from your son, Lexi

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | ENGLISH

THE SPIRIT OF ENGLISH The English team

We aim to provide a rich and stimulating language environment, where speaking and listening, Drama and role play, reading and writing are integrated.

Our children are confident, competent and expressive users of English with a developing knowledge of how it works. Our children are reflective users of language, able to analyse and evaluate features of language.

We offer an environment where pupils are encouraged to construct and convey meaning, both in speech and writing, of factual, imaginary and personal experiences.

We emphasise the importance of continuous improvement and the ability for all children to achieve.

ENGLISH | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

Our children have an increasing awareness of purpose and audience for both written and oral language.

BASED ON EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, AT KPS WE BELIEVE: •

the most powerful single influence to enhance achievement is feedback.

• oral feedback is much more effective than written. •

most powerful feedback is provided from the student to the teacher.

From the very first steps, we nurture a love of language.

EDIT AND IMPROVE EX = can you expand the sentence? O = think about the sentence opener!

HOW DOES THAT LOOK IN THE CLASSROOM? Depending on your child’s age, we will be focusing on how to improve and correct work in slightly different ways.

V = could you improve your vocabulary choice? H = check handwriting formation or legibility.

CHECK AND CORRECT SP = can you expand the sentence? P = think about the sentence opener! C = could you improve your vocabulary choice? T = check handwriting formation or legibility.

II = begin a new paragraph. ? = check that this makes sense/answers the question!

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | MATHS

MATHS How many of us have told our children, “I was rubbish at Maths at school”. This year at KPS we have been working hard to introduce elements of Maths Mastery. WHY ARE WE INTRODUCING ELEMENTS OF MATHS MASTERY AT KPS? "Maths teaching for mastery rejects the idea that a large proportion of people ‘just can’t do maths’. All pupils are encouraged by the belief that by working hard at maths they can succeed." (NCETM 2014) This consolidates our school thinking about being open minded and not having a closed mindset.

WHAT IS MATHS MASTERY? Mastering maths means pupils acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. The phrase ‘teaching for mastery’ describes the elements of classroom practice that combine to give pupils the best chances of mastering maths. Achieving mastery means acquiring a solid enough understanding of the maths that’s been taught to enable pupils to move on to more advanced material.

MATHS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

FIVE BIG IDEAS IN TEACHING FOR MASTERY COHERENCE Connecting new ideas to concepts that have already been understood, and ensuring that, once understood and mastered, new ideas are used again in next steps of learning, all steps being small steps.

MATHEMATICAL THINKING If taught ideas are to be understood deeply, they must not merely be passively received but must be worked on by the student: thought about, reasoned with and discussed with others.

REPRESENTATION AND STRUCTURE

FLUENCY

Representations used in lessons expose the mathematical structure being taught, the aim being that students can do the maths without recourse to the representation.

Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures, and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.

VARIATION Varying the way a concept is initially presented to students, by giving examples that display a concept as well as those that don’t display it. Also, carefully varying practice questions so that mechanical repetition is avoided, and thinking is encouraged.

Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures...

WHAT ARE WE DOING AT KPS? •

Expanding ‘maths meetings’ from Reception into Pre-Prep.

•

Varying the mathematical language we use when teaching (e.g. ‘=’ is now referred to as ‘is the same as’.

•

Encouraging pupils to peer mark and help find mistakes.

•

Explaining their thinking.

•

Encouraging pupils to say what the answer is not and why.

•

Celebrating each other’s achievements.

If you are helping your child with their Maths at home, don’t ask them what the answer is – ask them how they got there. By explaining their thinking this deepens their understanding.

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | SCIENCE

SCIENCE It has been a wonderfully exciting time of change and progression for Science at KPS and the future is certainly looking bright for the subject.

ur aim is for the children to experience Science lessons which deepen their enthusiasm, knowledge, skills and understanding. It is a subject which stimulates their curiosity like little else and our staff value seeing the enjoyment they find in Science a huge amount. The Innovation Centre has given us the space for new and exciting resources that have enabled our teaching staff to provide the children with some outstanding Science this year. A bespoke, open and inviting space for our lessons has made

hands-on practical work a part of next academic year there will be school life the children are hugely weekly, timetabled practical Science excited about! Over the next few lessons; these will complement the years, as we settle into our new current class topic or be standalone, home, we will look to continue skill-based sessions. We are also upgrading our equipment and looking forward to our Pre-Prep outfitting the space to be as inspiring children being given the chance as it can be. Similarly, we are always early on to come and experience a looking to keep our curriculum dedicated laboratory space contemporary, stimulating and have reserved time and varied to give the in the Innovation children the level of Centre for them to knowledge and skillset start developing with which they can their enthusiasm It is a subject thrive as scientists. for Science. which stimulates Throughout the their curiosity like Prep School for the During the year we have had little else... various school trips that are specifically chosen to further deepen and enrich the children’s learning and these serve as highlights in the year when a day can be dedicated to Science. The excellent ‘We the Curious’ museum in Bristol, Bath University, Cadbury World, Westonbirt Arboretum and Slimbridge Wetlands Centre are a

SCIENCE | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

few of the places our children have been fortunate enough to visit this year. It has also been a target for us to actively seek out members of the Science industry to come in to school and share with the children what a career in the subject can involve; we have had astronomers, engineers and doctors running workshops for the pupils. We are very grateful to the local company, Fun Science Ltd, who have been coming into school over the last few years to run after school clubs and workshops. More than half of our pupils have at some point been inspired by Maggie and Rachel and it is fantastic to see the enjoyment of Science they have brought to the School.

Supplementing the Science built into our normal school day, there are also a variety of extra-curricular clubs which complement and enthuse the children even further; Nature Club, Gardening Club, the CREST Science Award club, Robotics club have all been great successes. Kingswood Senior School have hosted the Prep children for a variety of workshops; Year 6 for rocket science, Year 5 for pond dipping and Year 4 for some Van de Graaff Generator fun! Science is such a key subject for our children to be excited by and we can be so proud of how it is going from strength to strength at Kingswood as part of our STEAM curriculum.

Luke Hopwood (Science Coordinator)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | PRE-PREP DT AND ENGINEERING IN STEAM

Developing creative thinking and problem solving.

PRE-PREP DT AND ENGINEERING IN STEAM For the first time, this year the Pre-Prep children have had weekly dedicated DT / STEAM lessons where they have learnt a wide range of practical skills.

hese lessons have been greatly enjoyed and the new skills have noticeably transferred to many other curriculum areas.

•

Exploring and using a variety of materials, both natural and man made

•

Using construction sets

•

Working outdoors, learning about the materials around us

The skills developed this year include: •

Ruler use, both drawing and measuring

•

Correct and accurate use of scissors (taken for granted by adults, but surprisingly difficult for younger children)

•

Structures / den building

•

Fire safety

•

Being able to select equipment/tools appropriate for a given task, and use safely

•

Outdoor cooking

•

Developing creative thinking and problem solving

•

Learning how to join things together

•

Using and sawing wood

Jeremy Chitson (Design Technology Coordinator / Teacher)

PRE-PREP DT AND ENGINEERING IN STEAM | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | ART

ART

ART | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Evie, 2W Polly, RH Aditi, 5SG Elspeth, 3SH Chloe, 2B Alethia, 6SQ Chloe, 1RH

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Isla, 1PV Rosie, 4RB Charlotte, 5SG Sam, 4HB Rose, 3SH Harvey, 6H Lexi, 5H

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | ART

NEW BEGINNINGS IN ART The transformation of our Art department in our new buildings has been remarkable this year, as the children have really enjoyed using their spacious and innovative room with a view.

Our wonderful Year 6 art monitors were certainly put to task...

he schemes of work have been extended to incorporate: video clips and example artwork to link with their projects; a visualiser to watch live demonstrations on the interactive whiteboard; and more opportunity and space for multimedia activities in a single lesson. Printing, in particular, has been hugely successful with our expansive work surface to set up multiple stations. Having visiting artist Helen Stanfield in Year 5 has led to intricately patterned monoprints inspired by her award-winning piece ‘Walk The Lines – Bath’. Large-scale workshops for nursery and our STEAM morning for parents have been exciting additions to the year and we look forward to extending these opportunities in the future. Our wonderful Year 6 art monitors were certainly put to task with some very excited PreSchoolers in our Valentine’s activities! They have also worked very hard on their Easter art competition to produce a permanent piece of art in the STEAM area. The quality of our entries along with those for our summer competition of ‘Fantastical Beasts’ were quite stunning and they were proudly displayed for the whole community to enjoy.

ART | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

Our wide range of art and design clubs have also greatly enriched the children’s experiences from prop-making to cartoon drawing, ceramics and art clubs for Pre-Prep to Year 6. We also run many break and lunchtime sessions also including open-door art, advanced drawing for potential scholars and art monitor sessions. Lorna Bode, a local artist from the Bath Artist’s Studios, has been running Ceramics club for a number of years now, building skills from Pre-Prep upwards and producing stunning results.

After our very successful fundraiser with our Christmas card project this year, we were able to put £720 towards our brand new kiln, now proudly situated behind our new art room. Lorna has created a permanent display of self-portraits with her Year 5 and 6 club, taking advantage of our wonderful new facilities. It really has been an exciting year and we are looking forward to building more links with our other STEAM subject areas and creating many more well-being activities for children and staff. Well done to all of the children for making the new space as vibrant as it always promised to be!

Karen Fox (Head of Art)

‘Walk The Lines – Bath’ by Helen Stanfield

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | DRAMA

Year 6 Production Into The Woods

DRAMA AT KPS This year has been an exciting one for Drama at KPS. All our children have been given numerous opportunities to develop their skills, both in their specialist Drama lessons and across all areas of the curriculum.

DRAMA W

e have been very fortunate to expand our Drama department in terms of teaching and facilities. Miss Birchall and Mrs McGlynn are teaching our Prep specialist lessons and our brand new Drama studio is beginning to take shape. This new Drama studio holds many exciting new possibilities for the future.

PRE-PREP The Pre-Prep pupils enjoy beginning their ‘Drama’ journey by taking part in nativity plays at Christmas.

In addition to this, they participate in role play, both in the classroom and during free play, which is an incredibly important foundation to their future performances.

YEAR 3 Year 3 is the first year that the children receive specialist Drama lessons and they learn many of the basics that form the foundations for their education in performance. They are also taken on a trip to The Egg Theatre in Bath to see a professional performance, so that they can see

This new Drama studio holds many exciting new possibilities for the future. all these techniques put into practice. This year we went to see ‘The Scarlett Pimpernel,’ which was enjoyed by staff and pupils alike, and led to some very entertaining puppet and ventriloquism work by our Year 3 pupils.

YEAR 4 In Year 4 our children take part in our end of year musical. Every child in the year group is given the opportunity to have a speaking part; take part in large and small group dances and sing a variety of songs. We aim, through this, to allow every child to improve and develop their skills at a level appropriate for them, as well as increase their confidence, which translates across all areas of the curriculum.

DRAMA | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

YEAR 5 In Year 5 the children continue to hone and develop their skills. This year we have newly introduced another theatre trip so that the children are able to take inspiration, once again, with more experienced eyes. We encourage them to look closely not only at the actors, but all elements of performance, including set design, lighting and many other features. In the Summer Term, the children work in small groups to direct and create their own performances as part of a showcase for parents. This is an excellent way to prepare for Year 6.

YEAR 6 Drama in Year 6 is a point of particular pride for KPS. We start the year by taking part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival. All the children perform in one of two, half hour versions of Shakespeare productions, which are spoken using original Shakespearean text. This is an astounding This is an achievement for children astounding of such a young age. The achievement for production of Macbeth at children of such a the Tobacco Factory Theatre young age. in November was superb and they arguably outshone children several years their senior. One of the highlights of the KPS calendar is the Year 6 musical. Once again, all the children take part but this year they were given the opportunity to explore a number of elements of performance including marketing, choreography and backstage. We work as a team to develop our production and this year have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of performing ‘Into the Woods’ at the Kingswood Senior School Theatre.

Helen Birchall (Year 4 Teacher)

EXTRA CURRICULAR There are numerous opportunities for those children who wish to participate in even more Drama than is already offered within our curriculum. This ranges from devising and performing a play in French to taking exams in Musical Theatre. Our Musical Theatre group has also competed in the MidSomerset Festival and won the last three years, all owed to the children’s hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. Our extra-curricular clubs aim to inspire children of all abilities to enjoy any and all areas of Drama.

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | MUSIC

FRESH START IN THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT Jackie Cross (Head of Music)

October 2018 saw the opening of our new buildings for music, as the final part of the new build development.

e are thrilled to have moved into a suite of rooms, our very own department, which consists of a music classroom adjacent to the Association Hall, six music teaching and practice rooms, and a music office. We were very privileged to receive a large donation to the Music department, which enabled us to purchase a new grand piano for the music classroom, a new state-of-the-art digital piano for use in

NATIVITIES

the classroom and hall, and two new upright pianos for our piano teaching rooms. So it truly feels as if music at KPS has had a fresh start this year! The Music department has continued to be a very busy part of school life. All the children, from Nursery to Year 6, have been involved in a Nativity, a concert, a show or a musical. Many children have taken music exams, music ensembles and choirs, and have enjoyed a variety of music clubs.

So it truly feels as if music at KPS has had a fresh start this year!

Children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 were busy performing Nativities just before Christmas. Nursery bravely performed on the stage in the Association Hall, and many sheep and angels joined the party as we celebrated the birth of Jesus.

Reception travelled up to the Chapel and gave a superb performance of the Christmas story, all saying their lines dramatically and singing with enthusiasm! Years 1 and 2 presented A Miracle In Town, showcasing the most groovy dancing camels and the most sparkly angels ever seen in a traditional Nativity!

YEAR GROUP CONCERTS Every year group in school has put on a concert for their parents and grandparents to watch this year. From the youngest pianists in Reception, playing their very first pieces in public, through to the advanced solo singers in Year 6, the children have all been able to watch and listen to each other. The children have been inspired by what they have heard and have celebrated their own talents, and those of their friends.

MUSIC | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

MUSIC

GALA CONCERT

The Summerhill Singers Choir have had a busy year, which has included singing at the Christmas Carol services, performing in the Gala Concert, and being the first choir to sing in the newly renovated Bath Abbey.

heir final concert of the year, in Bath Abbey, was a huge success and the singing from the children was spectacular. The choir, which has 48 singers from Years 3 to 6, sang a wide range of songs from sacred to musical theatre, and from unison to four part harmony. Bea, Connie, Clemmie and Ryan performed beautiful solos, whilst others sang trios and small group items too. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this choir perform again next year – they are amazing!

INTO THE WOODS Into The Woods was the Year 6 end of year musical and told the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and the Witch and the Baker, with mysterious men, wolves, more witches and other fairy tale characters thrown in for good measure. Year 6 went to Kingswood Theatre to perform and it was a superb end to their time with us at KPS. Well done Year 6 – keep on performing!

BRASS GROUP ACHIEVEMENTS Every year, many of our musicians take part in the Mid-Somerset Festival, in both solo and ensemble classes. This year, the Brass Group won the Leslie Hope Trophy, coming first in their Instrumental Ensemble class. Fenn and Freddie also took first place in their solo brass classes. Congratulations!

As the Spring Term drew to a close, we performed the largest concert of the year, the Gala Concert, using staging and our new lights to great effect. The Association Hall was absolutely bursting at the seams with performers and audience, who all enjoyed an evening of music and drama. There were some tremendous performances from both the ensembles and the soloists. It is good to celebrate all that comes from the Music and Drama departments at KPS.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see this choir perform again next year...

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | SPORT

KEY QUESTIONS IN SPORT Here are some questions we constantly ask ourselves in our Sport sessions… •

Are we inspiring a love of physical activity in our pupils? Are we giving them a wide variety of opportunities and experiences to be active – whether that be in “competitive” sports or finding other ways that they can be active?

•

Do the children see that sport and physical activity is for them? Do they want to be involved and do they feel confident to try new things?

•

Do they see their activity / game as their own (rather than the teacher’s)? Do they believe that they can do things?

...inspiring a love of physical activity in our pupils.

SPORT | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

•

Are the children able to work successfully with others? Can they discuss things and solve problems, deal with disagreements and work towards a common goal?

•

Are they able to organise themselves, problem-solve, adapt, create, share ideas?

•

Are they healthy – physically and emotionally?

•

Are they developing and improving skills and understanding?

•

Do the children try to work with our core values of Determination, Effort, Sportsmanship, Enjoyment, Respect and Teamwork?

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | SPORT

SPORT | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

A GREAT YEAR OF SPORT I could tell you what I think but – better still – I will just give you the words of a pupil who was asked in her class to choose a subject to reflect on at the end of the School year. Emily chose to speak about her experience on the games field in this, her first year at KPS, and it seems to tick a few boxes. Ian Shrubsole (Head of Games)

LEARNING NEW SPORTS

have chosen this topic because before I came to Kingswood I had not played any hockey, netball or cricket, and I think it is important to explain how learning these sports from brilliant teachers has helped me develop as a person. Learning these new sports has helped me especially, because I have got to work with all the girls in my year by being in a team with different people each week. Over the year, I

have got to know all the girls better and they got to know me. Now, I like to play all three sports, however I love hockey and cricket the best. When I started playing each sport, I felt scared, nervous and shy, but now whenever I play games and matches I feel excited and I look forward to them because I know that it is all supposed to be fun and enjoyable.

I think that these sports have helped me build resilience, confidence and teamwork...

I think that learning these sports has helped me build resilience, confidence and teamwork, which are three really important life skills. It has also helped me get more fit and healthy, physically and mentally in a way I wasn’t before.

Emily

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | HUMANITIES

HUMANITIES Alexandra St. Quintin (Senior Teacher)

We have had another exciting year in Humanities! From Reception to Year 6 we have covered a vast number of topics and the children have experienced lots of fun, stimulating lessons!

PS children are explorers in Geography, History and RE! There has been a superb balance between learning new knowledge, understanding new skills, developing inquiry and making links with the wider world and other subjects. Often Humanities has been the basis for lots of creative activities in English and Drama!

Reception have studied the Arctic, Inuit and Arctic people, and Shackleton! The children have learnt about key explorers and when they discovered the polar regions.

HUMANITIES | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

MAPPING Mapping skills develop early and grow throughout the School. •

Year 1 have mapped the UK and looked at countries across the world.

•

Year 2 have drawn their own map and have found different physical and human features on different grid references. They have also identified where different inventors came from in the world!

•

Year 3 children have picked a country of their choice and researched all the political features.

•

Year 4 children have mapped the tectonic plates and spotted volcanoes on a map!

•

Year 6 children have looked at Slave Trade maps and used colours, arrows and symbols to identify the types of goods, as well as the direction they travel in. They have given examples of specific countries and continents involved.

Year 1 have mapped the UK and looked at countries across the world.

HUMANITIES: SHOW AND TELL There has been lots of show and tell in Humanities. This is where children share their topic homework or talk about an object or an artefact in more detail!

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | HUMANITIES

TIMELINES Chronology has been a big focus in History. Look at some of our timeline work! •

Year 1 have looked into the history of flight.

•

Year 3 looked at the timeline of their own life!

•

Year 6 made a WW2 timeline outside.

HUMANITIES TRIPS Throughout the year, the KPS children have been on a multitude of trips and visits! •

Year 2 visited Cardiff Castle and had a special 'History of Art' lesson from a parent!

•

Year 6 visited the Mary Rose!

Year 3 looked at the timeline of their own life!

MFL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

MFL:

THE UK LINGUISTICS OLYMPIAD In February, 14 pupils from Year 6 competed in the UK Linguistics Olympiad.

he children sat a ninety minute paper in exam conditions at our Senior School alongside other students ranging from Year 7 to Year 13. KPS pupils had three questions to solve using their pattern spotting ability and their problem solving skills. They showed determination and truly embraced this challenging opportunity. The pupils all

performed really well and they were awarded their certificates at our Gold Book Assembly. We are very proud of them. A special mention to Maisie who was awarded a National Bronze Award.

Isabelle Turner (Head of Modern Languages)

They showed determination and truly embraced this challenging opportunity.

FRENCH CAFÉ EXPERIENCE "Bonjour! Je voudrais manger un pain au chocolat, s’il vous plaît." Year 6 enjoyed dining in a French Café as part of their Languages Day celebrations!

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | MFL

MFL: LANGUAGES DAY On Tuesday 19 March, pupils at KPS arrived to a school decorated with flags from all around the world to celebrate Languages Day.

uring the extended school assembly, children from every year group confidently took to the stage to perform in French, Spanish or German. The enjoyment and assurance of the children was a real pleasure to see. We were also treated to greetings, presentations, rhymes and readings by pupils who speak an additional language at home. The languages were varied, ranging from Spanish, Italian, Farsi and Hungarian to Turkish, Russian, Dutch and Chinese. We are very lucky at KPS to have so many children who are able to speak another language, and it was really inspiring to listen to them. Learning another language also opens the door to other cultures and

pupils were introduced to Easter Celebration in Spain, the welcoming of Spring in Russia and to Persian New Year traditions.

an enchanted caribou and some pirates, and enjoyed a fun filled show told through live action, puppetry and catchy songs.

The children were enthused During the day, we and it is hoped that the were visited by experience will help to Théâtre sans inspire a lasting love Frontières. All for learning languages the children in We are very lucky at and reinforce the the Prep School KPS to have so many fact that we live were treated children who are in a multilingual, to a theatrical able to speak another multicultural world production in language... where seventy five French of ‘Ti-Jean percent of the world’s et la Chèvre’, based population doesn’t speak on a feast of magical any English at all. tales from around the French speaking world – including Canada, Mali and Cambodia. The Isabelle Turner children met a mischievous monkey, (Head of Modern Languages)

MFL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | STEAM OVERVIEW

STEAM OVERVIEW It seems like a long time ago I was sent in front of each class explaining to them what STEAM meant, how they would learn and how the lessons would be taught.

TEAM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. For us, STEAM lessons show the practical applications of Science and Maths by using Technology and Engineering tools and techniques to solve a problem. You will notice the ‘A’ for Art was missing in my explanation, but we choose STEAM because, whilst making and designing are skills in their own right and are essential to STEM, Art and having the skills

and knowledge allows for the children to think more creatively about their ideas and designs. It brings them to life Mrs Fox has written in more detail about Art over the year. Hopefully, every child from Years 3 – 6 can now tell you that it is not just a lesson, but a It is about way of thinking journey the about problems

and solutions, ideas and creations. We have taught STEAM through project-based learning where each lesson is also building towards the project, but has key learning objectives along the way.

the child goes on towards the goal.

One of the key messages that we have been teaching the children this year is about the Engineering Design Process where, by following the process

STEAM OVERVIEW | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

step by step, problems can be approached in a logical way. During each term, the class has been presented with a problem, or a design brief which they must ‘solve’. Solving the problem is not the focus or necessarily the goal, but of course it is always nice to succeed. It is about the journey the child goes on towards the goal. I am sure that the Year 3 children were very happy that they reached their

goal of designing and making a chocolate bar. They used a range of resources to design their bars, first on paper and on the computer, before making a template of their bar by shaping a potato. The potato template was then used on the vacuum former to make their mould, before melting and pouring the chocolate and designing their wrapper. No wonder Year 3 have loved their lessons! Year 4 have taken a more scientific approach when they were asked to make an

‘Earthquake Proof Building’. After lots of testing of different designs on a wobble board, they found that they needed to add dampers – sure enough, they succeeded. Year 5 have made computer games to test reaction speeds, robotic challenge tables requiring saws, drills and a lot of measuring, and have made a water wall for the Reception children to play with. Year 6 have designed 3D models, created name plaques and Tudor artefacts, designed and built rocket cars, and programmed Lego Mindstorm Robots to complete some tricky challenges.

David Murphy (Senior Teacher - for Health and Safety; Head of Innovation)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | PASTORAL AND WELLBEING

PASTORAL AND WELLBEING At KPS, we firmly believe that a happy, secure, kind, resilient child can make excellent progress in all spheres of their school life, which is why Pastoral Care and Wellbeing underpin everything that we do.

ur pupils’ happiness and wellbeing is of paramount importance. We nurture every child’s unique personality and interests and ensure that through our Methodist values, respect and kindness for all, the staff’s knowledge and understanding of each individual child, our rich, holistic curriculum and a true sense of belonging, every child can thrive.

KPS SCHOOL COUNCIL The School Council and children’s voices play such an important role at KPS and the Representatives, who are chosen by their peers and who serve on the Council for a term, work tirelessly to improve aspects of school life. This year, the Representatives predominantly focussed on improving the outside spaces. They worked with the Friends of KPS to share their thoughts on the design and layout of the proposed playground. The new space provides everyone with exciting new areas, calm places to relax and chat with friends, and adventurous places to explore. They also reviewed and improved the KPS Positive Behaviour Policy so that it also included a ‘green’ and ‘gold’ card for super work and an excellent attitude to learning to ensure that positives were celebrated and recognised.

CHILD FRIENDLY ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

Written by the KPS School Council June 2019

Furthermore, the School Council Representatives play such an important role in ensuring that everyone at KPS feels happy and safe at school, so they also created a ‘child-friendly’ anti-bullying policy. By looking at example policies, they designed a policy that is clear to read, easy to understand and gives helpful advice and tips.

PASTORAL AND WELLBEING | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

YEAR 6 MENTORS AND BUDDIES Our ‘Buddy System’ allows for older children to support the younger children by reading together, playing together and being role models in all aspects of school life. For example, the Year 6 Art Monitors and Maths monitors have supported in the Nursery and have supported Year 1 with their reading. These activities demonstrate true collaboration between our oldest and youngest children.

WELLBEING MONITORS Our Year 6s have really enjoyed their time with their Wellbeing Mentors and these sessions provide time to talk, share worries and celebrate successes. The transition from Year 6 – Year 7 is an exciting one, but one which is full of changes, challenges, and celebrations and the Wellbeing Mentor programme provides an additional layer of Pastoral Care during this time.

OUR EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMME Wellbeing is a key focus for our ExtraCurricular Activities (ECA) programme and children, this year, have had the opportunity to practice Mindfulness, Our pupils’ join a Book Club, relax during Art happiness and Clubs, be a member of a Choir or wellbeing is Ensemble, play in sports teams, of paramount explore the outdoors through importance. Orienteering and Forest School and be creative in Drama and Musical Theatre, to name just a few! All of these activities have provided children with the chance to enrich their lives, learn new skills and form new relationships with other members of our school community.

Helen Worrall (Deputy Head / DSL)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | TRIPS AND VISITS

TRIPS AND VISITS The Prep pupils have been treated to some exciting, educational and adventurous trips and visits this year! BRISTOL AEROSPACE MUSEUM

THE EGG THEATRE

Year 3 were treated to a visit to the Egg Theatre to see a fast and In January, Year 1 embarked on a furious performance of ‘The Scarlet journey to the Bristol Aerospace Pimpernel’. Witty wordplay, brave Museum to learn about the history of women, not-so-brave men, double flight. The children learnt about what disguises, very high wigs and poodle materials could be used to make a puppets thrilled everyone. Back plane and how the first planes were at school, the children explored built. This was a great opportunity for characterisation, stage combat and everyone to get hands-on, sort ventriloquism, and had the materials and test if they opportunity to give voices were waterproof. The to their own puppets, children even had the as well as creating chance to walk around their our own mini The children even a real concorde! performances. Touché!

BRILLIANT BRISTOLIANS

had the chance to walk around a real concord!

Year 2 spent a day in Bristol learning about five different brilliant Bristolians! Before heading to M Shed, the children were given the opportunity to see The Clifton Suspension Bridge and part of the SS Great Britain. The pupils enjoyed walking along the harbour side before starting their workshops and looking around the museum. The children were tasked with researching a famous Bristolian and presenting their information and knowledge to the rest of the group. They did a great job of standing up and sharing their information.

NO. 1 THE ROYAL CRESCENT

Pupils in Year 5 enjoyed a fun and educational trip to No. 1 The Royal Crescent towards the end of the year, as part of their Georgian subject topic. The children learnt a great deal and received several comments from the general public, who said how well behaved the children were. The pupils also welcomed Mrs Salter to the Prep School, who gave them a wonderful presentation about Georgian buildings. As a specialist interior designer, her knowledge was excellent and the children learnt about external and internal features of Georgian houses.

TRIPS AND VISITS | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

RESIDENTIALS: SNOWDONIA Just before the summer holidays, Year 6 children went on their residential to North Wales for a week of activities in the Snowdonia National Park.

ach day, the children were given opportunities to try different activities including: climbing and abseiling, gorge walking, mountain biking and mountain walking. The climbing wall saw some first time climbers conquering their nerves and some more experienced climbers improving their skills on the rock face. The children took part in gorge walking, jumping into the cold water with both feet, and being kind and supportive of one another.

Year 6 were also presented with an opportunity to go canoeing and paddle boarding through Llyn Padarn in Llanberis. Paddle boarding required balance and concentration, and the children showed tremendous focus to navigate their boards carefully across the lake. The children demonstrated a spirit of adventure and shared words of encouragement with one another, causing them to grow in confidence each day.

RESIDENTIALS: FOLLY FARM

On Wednesday 19 June, Year 4 set off on their residential to Folly Farm, a nature reserve in Bristol bursting with wildlife and stunning scenery.

pon their arrival, the children split into two groups and did various activities such as bug hunting and pond dipping. The children were also given the opportunity to look at owl pellets, which they found fascinating. The pupils completed team challenges which encouraged them to work on cooperation, communication and respect for one another. They made dens in the forest and worked on some survival skills,

including making campfires and testing whether their dens were waterproof. These challenges encouraged the pupils to focus on some different qualities such as kindness, listening and problem solving.

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | FRIENDS OF KINGSWOOD PREP SCHOOL

FRIENDS OF KINGSWOOD PREP SCHOOL The last year has seen a lot of changes at KPS, leading to a busy but rewarding year for the Friends.

he opening in September of ‘The Garden at Kingswood’ and new buildings for Years 5 and 6, STEAM, Music, and the Association Hall meant lots of new families to welcome to the School, new projects to support, and new opportunities for events and activities to help strengthen the Kingswood Community. The Friends have a long history of supporting the School by raising funds to create or improve outdoor play areas. We started the year with some money set aside to support the School’s aim of installing a multi-use sports area but soon agreed to incorporate this into a wider project to update the School Playground. This is

the most ambitious project the Friends have ever supported at KPS and we were very excited to be given the opportunity. Much of the year was then taken up with identifying a suitable playground design contractor and developing a scheme in conjunction with teachers and the School Council. The scale of the resulting project - £50,000 to implement the full scheme - meant that our goal for the year became more focused on fundraising than would usually be the case, but we worked hard to ensure that a lot of fun was also had along the way. Over the course of the year we organised 15 events and 12 additional fundraisers or other activities, as well as running the Nearly New Uniform Shop every week. Alongside our regular events, we introduced a few new ventures, including “Fun Friday” treats on the Adventure Playground

as a way to top up funds and bring families together on the eve of each half term break. We also launched a link to Easyfundraising.org. Take up was slow but steady and by the end of the year 60 supporters had together raised over £700 for FoKPS, just by doing their regular online shopping. We hope to build on this next year. The backbone of FoKPS fundraising is traditionally the Christmas Fair and this year was no exception, raising over £5,000. Time-tested stalls and a generous raffle ran alongside a magnificent Santa’s

FRIENDS OF KINGSWOOD PREP SCHOOL | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

Grotto and we made full use of the new Association Hall to incorporate a festive shopping hall whilst the Adventure Playground welcomed two assisted-therapy donkeys providing rides throughout the afternoon. In addition to the Fair, the Friends put Christmas trees and decorations up around the School, produced tea towels bearing selfportraits and hand prints of all children in Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep, and ran a Christmas wreathmaking workshop. At the very end of term, a group of parent volunteers joined the School catering team to serve Christmas lunch for all KPS children and staff as a way of saying thank you; the Friends provided Christmas crackers and a lot of fun was had by all.

competition and the Nearly New Uniform Shop completed its move from the basement of Summerhill Mansion to a new permanent location behind the main school building. Being above ground has been an exciting development for the Uniform Shop team and the new location has been much more convenient for parents. The shop has always been an important source of revenue for FoKPS and this year it raised well over £4,000. On the final day of the Spring Term, we organised a mufti day and a whole morning of Easter Egg Hunts that were thoroughly enjoyed by all KPS children.

The Summer Term began with collecting and judging entries for our Easter holiday Matchbox Challenge, a sponsored activity which yielded some fabulously Spring Term is generally a quieter decorated matchboxes and an term, with the exception of impressive array of miniature the hugely popular Quiz Night contents. School Discos for children with Mr Shrub as Quizmaster from Reception to Year 6 followed, extraordinaire. This year’s along with support in the Quiz was a recordUniform Shop for new breaker in terms families on Moving of both fun and Up Morning and a fundraising. During successful trial of the term, we The highlight of “Rags to Riches”, a also launched the day, however, textile recycle and our “Pennies for reuse scheme. Our the Playground” was sponge-afinal event of the year inter-house teacher.

was the Summer Fair. On Saturday 15 June we defied the elements and welcomed back the much-loved donkeys along with a petting farm, inflatables and lots of other stalls and attractions, including rock painting, afternoon tea and Pimms. The highlight of the day, however, was sponge-a-teacher. Huge thanks to the staff and parents for their support in helping make the Fair a success, bringing families together and raising more than £2,000, despite the best efforts of the Great British weather. We are pleased to report that the funds raised have and will be put to very good use. Early in the year we were asked to fund the purchase of combined library and seating furniture for the new STEAM and Innovation Centre, which we were delighted to do. We also bought equipment to be used for cheerleading and gymnastics, plus the kit required to establish a new climbing club. Most importantly, we are now able to achieve our aim of funding the playground refurbishment project. As we embark upon the summer holiday, the Kingswood Grounds Team are helping with preparation work before the playground contractor arrives on site to start the installation of new surfaces and equipment. Ten exciting new features will make the space better suited to accommodate sport, group games and free play, encouraging collaboration, imagination and relaxation. We will continue working over the summer to ensure that everything goes to plan and very much look forward to welcoming the children back to enjoy the updated playground in September. This was a particularly busy year for the Friends of KPS and we would like to thank all members of the FoKPS team, parents, staff and children for their fantastic commitment and support, without which none of the above would have been possible. The Friends of Kingswood Prep School

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

THE SECRET DIARY... OF AN EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR AGED 43 ½ (HONESTLY!) AUGUST

OCTOBER

DECEMBER

The programme has been live now for several weeks and the booking system open. Thankfully, there have not been too many emails from parents about how to log onto Firefly and the process seems to be working fine.

Football, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Art, Mindfulness – the list goes on. I wish that there was this variety of after-school activities on offer when I was younger. Perhaps I wouldn’t have got into so much trouble outside of school if I was kept busy! Walking around school and seeing so many children smiling and enjoying taking part in so many wonderful things really is amazing.

One term of activities down already! And the changeover to the Spring Term and the weather can only get better from now onwards. Hockey to Netball, ESB and LAMDA exams to organise and weren’t the Summerhill Singers brilliant singing carols in Bath?

SEPTEMBER

JANUARY

AAAGGGHHH! One day before the booking system is due to close and the emails are flying in! ‘How do I log on…’, ‘The system doesn’t seem to be working…’ are just some of the subjects of the emails. However, a quick fix and reply, and all is ready and set to go…

Brrrrrr! We are back! The children get very excited to see what they are taking part in this time and I still get the odd email asking if the odd space is available here or there?!

NOVEMBER The dreaded weather curse! To see the staff continuing to offer their best and be flexible and creative when faced with ‘uncontrollables’ is brilliant, and the children and parents are really appreciative of what we continue to try and offer.

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

FEBRUARY

APRIL

JUNE

It was 25 degrees today unbelievable! The footballers thought they were playing in Spain when they arrived with the teacher outside. ‘Have you got your sunscreen on?!’ I shouted across to them as they ran about showing all the brilliant teamwork and social skills that activities outside of school hours can offer. (Footnote: a week later it snowed!)

The Easter holidays and another vast range of experiences are on offer for the children again and the booking system is open! It all seems as if the parents have seamlessly put in their children’s requests. It is disappointing sometimes when clubs are so popular that we can’t have everybody doing it all at the same time but we try our best. Fun Science has been split into two groups on a half-termly basis again and I can’t wait to see the different animal poos that are going to be made alongside the making of human blood!

The dreaded summer showers have hit again and more emails about change of venues for outside clubs. Tennis has carried on in the hall, however, and the girls’ football club have been designing football kits for the future. The Reception children put their coats on and we headed to the Drama Studio for some fun rugby skills and the popular game of ‘cups and saucers’!

MARCH

JULY

Almost at the end of the term and the ESB exams have taken place and the children just showed amazing poise and confidence in front of the examiners. The Cheerleading team has come back with another trophy as have the Musical Theatre group, who once again performed amazingly well. I can’t imagine any children getting more opportunities at taking part in such a range of activities at any other school!

The end of another year and over a 100 different activities have been offered since September. None of this would happen without the commitment and expertise of all the staff that have contributed. But do we stop there? Nope, I am now looking at implementing an even more scintillating and exciting programme for next year… so, watch this space!

xtra-Curricular Activities (or ECAs as we call them at KPS) are so important. In a world where schools are finishing earlier and earlier and children are looking for things to do, I am very proud to be a part of a place that offers our children so many chances to take part in activities using our wonderful facilities. They offer so much and our children really

MAY LAMDA exams now – singing, acting… the talents of these children are amazing! Some had not even performed in front of anyone before, let alone a strange examiner (he wasn’t that strange, honest!) The Forest Club providers are happy that the weather is getting hotter again and the headlamps are no longer needed. The ballet dancers have just performed their annual show and they were amazing, all the way from Nursery up to Year 6!

have the chance to find something that will suit them, whether it is Robotics or Climbing or Ballet or Ceramics. All these activities stimulate our young people’s hearts and minds, and help them grow and learn new skills. They teach teamwork and co-operation, give opportunities for tolerance and resilience and

are developing skills that are going to be needed in the future. I really hope that we can continue to make a difference outside of the classroom and make the activities programme even more successful and wide-ranging in the years ahead!

Andrew Ward (Houseparent and Games Teacher)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | CHALLENGE AND ENRICHMENT

CHALLENGE AND ENRICHMENT As W. B. Yeats so beautifully expressed, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”.

t KPS, we couldn’t agree more and view teaching as raising rather than asking questions - opening doors for children in places that they could not imagine.

but which lead to new in-depth learning. Mastery in Maths is another successful new initiative, which is encouraging all to dig deeper in order to have greater understanding.

We aim to do this through delivering a rich and varied curriculum and by offering a whole host of opportunities, both within and outside of the classroom, which extend challenge and give enrichment to every single individual.

Also within the curriculum are the poetry recitals and fully-inclusive performances, from our Nursery Nativity to Year 6 Shakespeare, to singing in the O2, which enable all to experience the joy of creative expression.

spiritual, creative and physical. This begins from the moment they step into, or are carried into, the Garden Nursery and continues until it is time to leave at the end of Year 6. Purposeful learning ensures engagement and interest. Peer presentations, use of open questions, Purposeful the sharing and learning ensures testing of ideas and the process engagement and of reflection and interest. adaption are all key elements in the learning process.

First and foremost, all children are challenged at their own level through the delivery of our curriculum - academic, pastoral,

Our amazing new STEAM facilities have enabled us to revamp and develop this whole area of study, encompassing projects which are not only fun to undertake

Enriching our subject areas are school visitors who bring such delights as French plays, ‘Space’ workshops and author talks on their latest good read. Also, there are those joyful outside visits to castles, museums, theatres, zoos and a host of inspiring destinations.

CHALLENGE AND ENRICHMENT | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

Residential trips from Year 3 bring a new level of challenge, pushing our pupils out of their comfort zone but offering a wealth of enriching experiences. Then there are the additional challenges and enrichment experiences on offer: our full extra-curricular programme; themed days; school competitions and quizzes; exam preparation (Music, Drama, Musical Theatre and English Speaking) and participation in local festivals.

Enrichment also derives from being part of wider community. At KPS we encourage our young people to develop important life skills through engaging with others in practical, enjoyable and meaningful ways. Alongside our in-house responsibilities from line-leader to monitor to Heads of School, we relish our associations with Bath Abbey, Stratton House and with Fosseway and Three Ways schools. We are also incredibly proud to have our own boarding house, High Vinnalls, which opens a whole new

window to the wonderful outside world and which further deepens our understanding of ourselves and of others. No two days are the same at KPS. Challenge and Enrichment underpin everything we do.

Marie McGlynn (Acting Director of Studies / Head of Performing Arts)

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | KPS ACTIVE CLUB

KPS ACTIVE CLUB

Every day is jam-packed with exciting and varied activities.

KPS Active is Kingswoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-residential holiday club. The club is operated throughout the year across all of the holiday periods and is offered to pupils between Reception and Year 7.

he club has grown substantially over the past few years and now supplies holiday activities to children from a variety of different schools. During the summer holidays we get a wide variety of nationalities joining us as well. We offer a varying range of specialist courses throughout the year and these include, hockey, cookery, cricket, cheerleading and first aid. KPS Active is an extension of the quality of education and Pastoral Care already offered by Kingswood Prep School. The children are cared for by enthusiastic, trained staff, leading small groups. Our range of activities are designed to provide the children with an enriched

experience, outside the normal curriculum, but with clear links to their learning and tailored to their developmental needs. By far our most popular course is our multi-activity course. We are fortunate to be able to take advantage of the amazing facilities at Kingswood. Every day is jam-packed with exciting and varied activities. The programme ranges from sporting activities, team games, group challenges, swimming, arts, crafts, outdoor pursuits, board games and general play. The variation day by day ensures that everyone who attends will find an activity that suits them. We have recently invested in a lot of new equipment and these have proven very popular at the club. The

go-karts and bouncy castle assault course have proven particularly popular. Our goal at KPS Active is to encourage fun and enjoyment at all times whilst being in a safe and comfortable environment. Pupils always come and make new friends, and everyone is made to feel welcome by staff and pupils alike.

Euan Gordon (KPS Active Manager)

KPS ACTIVE CLUB | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19 | STAFF HELLOS AND GOODBYES

STAFF HELLOS AND GOODBYES Mark Brearey (Headmaster)

INTRODUCTIONS HELEN WORRALL Helen arrived as our new Deputy Head with specific responsibility for day-to-day organisation, pastoral/pupil wellbeing, safeguarding and plenty more! Helen was a Deputy at a large primary school outside Salisbury and brought plenty of experience to the role. She is a brilliant addition to our Senior Management Team and has already made a significant difference to our school. Helen loves travel and languages, and is an insatiable reader.

ANNA BALLANGER Anna joined us from Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School, Ely, in Cambridgeshire. She leads The Garden at Kingswood and is in charge of EYFS. She has extensive experience with the very youngest children. She was really excited to move into our new facilities and worked tirelessly to ensure that all the paperwork and structures were in place.

ROB HILL Rob arrived mid-year as a Year 6 teacher. He had previously taught in a middle school and loves the great outdoors and especially cycling. Rob is a kind, diligent and skilled teacher, who is making a significant all-round contribution to our school.

LUKE JEFFERY

BEN SEAL

Luke arrived from Norland to become Deputy of The Garden. He has excellent knowledge of how our youngest children learn and staff and parents will benefit greatly from his experience.

Ben joined us from Bristol, having previously worked at Millfield. He has a very special skill set; he loves languages and has a really strong passion for the environment and for green issues. A skilled and dedicated teacher, Year 6 really enjoyed being taught by him. Benâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son is in the Baby Room.

DAN PATTERSON-VEIRA We are delighted that Dan is teaching Year 1. He is a skilled teacher and a very strong musician. His music has enriched the learning experience for our Year 1 children. Dan is just beginning his journey as a teacher and he will be a great addition to the profession.

STAFF HELLOS AND GOODBYES | KINGSWOOD PREP IN FOCUS 2018-19

THE GARDEN AT KINGSWOOD We welcomed the following new staff into The Garden at Kingswood. We are delighted to have you at KPS.

Annie Higgins

Helen Payne

Jane Freeman

Ashley Scott

Penny James

Imogen Bragg

Martina Matejka

Harriet Moss

Lou Avison

Leanne Duda

GOODBYES... The following staff have left KPS this year; they leave with our love and best wishes for the future. Anna Parry-Hearn – Anna left to become the Warden of Llandovery College in Wales. As Director of Studies, she made a significant contribution to life at KPS.

Chrissi Dowling – Chrissi popped up everywhere at KPS, always with her special brand of warmth. KPS Active, Getting Better Bay, the Nursery and the Office all benefited from Chrissi’s allround skills. We wish you every success as you start your new life on the Isle of Wight, Chrissi.

Louise Leah – Louise left us to take up the post of Head of Pre-Prep at Taunton School. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable in the planning stages of our new facilities. We all wish her every success in Taunton.

Mary Wright

Katie Thomas

Davina Pope

Always sunny and smiling – we are going to really miss her!

Jackie Baker – Jackie has been a hard-working and industrious Teaching Assistant at KPS for many years. Always sunny and smiling – we are going to really miss her! I am delighted that Jackie has agreed to be our Independent Listener and will be back in the Boarding House this year.

Sarah Gilmore – Sarah left us to take up a Deputy Head position at St Margaret’s, Calne. Sarah taught all ages at KPS, as well as leading Health and Safety, Library, and Accelerated Reading, and her new school will undoubtedly benefit from her extensive portfolio of skills. Sarah, we will miss you!

College Road, Bath BA1 5SD T. 01225 734460 E. kpsreception@kingswood.bath.sch.uk www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk