This week in Nursery, the pupils have been busy making snowy owls and huskies. They've also baked polar bear cakes, although the greatest hit seems to have been the snow themed 'tuff' tray, with which they were completely absorbed! Year 2's highlight of the week was undoubtedly their trip to Brickies (reported on elsewhere in this Bulletin), whilst the Year 3 children particularly enjoyed developing their measuring skills with some cross-curricular Maths, Topic and Science work. They ventured outside, despite the rain, and learned how to use a trundle wheel, measuring out the height of a rainforest tree and learning a song about the layers of vegetation in tropical forests.
School Council turned their attention to forests, albeit our own Junior Jungle, in their meeting this week. Discussions about how the area might be improved or developed were lively, although they thought it best to canvas wider opinion across Prep School before any decisions are made. The councillors have created a questionnaire to give everyone a chance to offer their thoughts, so watch this space for news of any plans that emerge. In their English lessons, Years 5 and 6 were tasked with writing informal letters, inspired by the characters in their respective class novels: 'Goodnight, Mr Tom' and 'Holes'. The fascinating process of mummification has been as popular as ever with our Year 4s, whilst the dinosaur themed learning in Reception and Year 1 took a theatrical and geographic turn this week, with pupils making prehistoric puppets as well as locating where various species of dinosaur would have lived on a modern world map.
Our Assembly this week centred on the need for us all to develop resilience in our lives, and I have no doubt every child has demonstrated this essential attribute at various times in their social interactions, sporting endeavours and academic pursuits. Do encourage them to share an example or two of when they have needed to be resilient this week - I'm sure they'd love to hear your own examples of when you've needed to do likewise (such as getting sleepy children fed, dressed and into the car each weekday morning, to name just one entirely theoretical example...). Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Values Certificates:
Effort for Douglas S and Oliver T
Kindness for Dante R-D and Elizabeth S
Responsibility for Violet W
Honesty for Henry S
Mr Wright
Stars of the Week
Nursery - Edie B for her enthusiastic attitude and involvement in our Polar themed activities.
Reception - Ali s for an amazing week in maths, swimming, changing and his attitude to challenge!
Year 1 - Sienna d P L for showing amazing respect by using her wonderful manners. Sienna went out of her way to thank the teacher numerous times during the week!
Year 2 - Obie M for a hugely improved attitude towards your reading. Your confidence is growing by the day, and I’m so proud of you!
Georgia C for outstanding progress in your reading - you are now using great strategies to decode unfamiliar words!
Mrs Henry
What a pleasure to host afternoon tea with our previous Heads of School last Friday! I was joined by Minnie, James, Oscar, Milly, Kora, Maddie and Charlie and it was so lovely to hear them chatting together sharing memories of their time at Duke of Kent School as Head Boy and Head Girl and giving pertinent pieces of advice to Maddie and Charlie. It was a real privilege to share an afternoon with them.
On Wednesday, Year 2 ventured to Brickies Lego Club in Wokingham. The children had a fun-packed day full of imagination and creation, with lots of learning thrown in for good measure! As we're set to start our new Science topic, 'Plants', very soon, the day's Lego building workshops reflected the learning we will soon be doing in class. Ben, the leader of Lego City, gave the children three challenges which they all completed with enthusiasm and vigour. Their first challenge was to create a 2D or 3D plant, making sure it included the crucial elements - roots, stem, leaves, petals and the flower. The children's next challenge saw them using their new knowledge of pollinators to create one out of Lego. Some of the pollinators they chose to replicate were wasps, bees, ladybirds and butterflies and a few even challenged themselves to create impressive 3D versions! The children's final challenge involved them creating their own dream garden, complete with a greenhouse. As you can imagine, the final masterpieces were very diverse in layout; some of the children's gardens had slides and treehouses whereas other children's gardens were more peaceful with lily ponds and areas to sit and relax!
A rather wet and wild week that saw the Years 9 and 10 cross country sadly fall victim of the weather whilst the Year 11 cohort maturely completed their Mocks. The Senior School Council met on Tuesday to discuss what tasks pupils may wish to be involved in during the upcoming Community Week in June, what organisations may benefit from our help and how we may be able to make a positive difference.
Celebration Snack Break this week was attended by Will R, Kai G (Year 10), Tom B, Ariana L, Sydney R (Year 9), Rhys W, Jack P, Heath P, Ben K, Arthur D-K, Will B (Year 8), Ben R, Bob P and Theo C (Year 7). Congratulations to you all for achieving the requisite number of Merit points and receiving your lunch fastpass and stationary prize.
On Wednesday afternoon, all pupils in Years 7 & 8 took part in House Cross Country. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side but luckily the boys and girls were prepared to get muddy!! The boys in Years 7 & 8 were up first, the effort was fantastic from each and every pupil. It was a big field with 46 pupils taking part, the boys put in some great performances and enjoyed their hot chocolate and treat afterwards!
A huge well done to Oliver C who finished in 1st place with Oscar V and Jude B with top 3 finishes in Year 8. In Year 7, Ollie K came in 1st with Sam H and Max S in 2nd and 3rd place. Next up were the girls. It was great to see another race full of spirit, effort and determination. Congratulations to Alice B, Francesca R and Rose S for coming top 3 respectively in Year 8 whilst Willow, Molly and Esme finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for Year 7. Most importantly, well done to all the runners for completing the course with smiles on their faces!! 
