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A Message from Mrs Knox

The Duke of Kent School performance at G Live this week was an absolute triumph. What pure joy watching the pupils having a fantastic time on stage. We have received so many emails from parents, grandparents and even from 2 parents from another school to say they were "blown away" by our talented pupils. A huge thank you to Nick Rye for being utterly brilliant and of course his team of fabulous music teachers and staff who looked after the children all day. I could not have been more proud! We also thoroughly enjoyed our one snow day and thank the catering team for quickly warming the children up with hot chocolate. Yesterday, we had a very popular sushi tasting event. The wasabi took a few pupils by surprise! Thank you to PADoK for hosting the Macmillan afternoon tea today. We all enjoyed a delicious piece of cake whilst raising funds for such an important cause. Have a lovely weekend. 

Mrs Knox

Parking in Top Car Park

There have been a number of occasions this term where parents have been parking on the main drive and ignoring the yellow lines. This creates a bottleneck at the top of the drive and makes it very difficult for other parents to park, increasing the risk of injury to those using the car park. In addition, any bottleneck at the top of the drive will restrict access for minibuses collecting pupils, delivery lorries and emergency vehicles. Therefore please ensure that only designated parking bays are used and in the event that there are no parking bays available, please park at the lower end of the site where there is plenty of space.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Mr Stacey
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The Lunch Menu for Next Week

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Rotary Youth Speaks District Finals

On Sunday 5th March, our outstanding debating team of Ariane L, Johnny McM and Kai G partook in the District finals of the Rotary Youth Speaks competition at St. Teresa’s School.

 Having perfected their debates from the previous two rounds, they did not disappoint with their calm, confident and knowledgeable presentation. They have made us all so proud of the commitment and effort that they have shown. It was an extremely tight competition, with an incredibly high standard shown by all five teams. We congratulate the winning team (Oathall Community College), whose motion was: ‘Censorship should be censored’. Ariane, Johnny and Kai have already said that they want to enter next year and go all the way to the National Finals! A huge thank you to Mrs Knox and all the parents who gave up their Sunday afternoon to support the team.

Mrs Punter
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GLive

This Wednesday was GLive day! Every year we are lucky enough to be invited by the Guildford Rotary Club to perform in a joint schools concert with three other schools (Prior's Field, George Abbot and Christ's College) and it is undoubtedly one of the musical highlights of the school year. This year we took 105 pupils and 11 staff to the GLive venue in Guildford, with a half hour set ready to go and a table for 116 booked at Zizzi's for the annual pizza!

As always our pupils were outstanding. Their behaviour and professionalism on the stage during the technical rehearsal was excellent and then in the restaurant they were spirited but respectful, and as always drew positive comments from the staff working both in the theatre and the restaurant. 

Our set in the evening was eclectic and entertaining, and I was so proud of our wonderful pupils who rose to the occasion as only they can! They learn so much from the experience and the thrill of performing on a big, professional stage to approximately 1000 people is something that will stay with them a long time I am sure. Well done to The Ukes of Kent, Stomp, the Prep Choir, the Senior Choir, the Big Band, the Rock Band and all the soloists.  A massive thank you is also due to the Music Department staff - Mr Kaye, Miss Barnes, Mr Forrester and Mr Wilson - and to all the other staff who gave up their time to chaperone or drive a bus - thank you all!

Mr Rye
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Year 7 trip to Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha

On Monday morning Year 7 travelled with Mr Monk, Miss Arnold and myself to a Sikh temple, the 'Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha', in Southall, London. This is the largest Sikh temple (gurdwara) outside India, and was to reinforce their learning of Sikhism which we have been covering in Religious Studies this term. After taking off their shoes and fixing their headgear ('patkas') we were hosted by Paramjeet Singh and Gurcharam. This was a wonderful opportunity for Year 7 to see their knowledge 'come alive', especially by enjoying the communal 'langar' or food, available to any visitor from 2am! The food is always vegetarian and is enjoyed by everyone while sitting in rows on the floor. This shows how everyone is equal, a key part of Sikh beliefs. The pupils also paid their respects in the prayer room and could show off their own knowledge of, for example, the 'five K's' which includes the 'kirpan', a knife used to symbolise defending the Sikh faith, the 'kara', a steel bracelet indicating there is no beginning or end regarding God, and 'kesh', uncut hair. We learnt about the special rooms where Sikhs take an hour or so each to read a passage from the 'Guru Grant Sahib' holy book before handing the responsibility over to someone else. There must be no break in each handover and it takes 48 hours to read the 1,438 pages aloud from end to end!

Mr Lodge
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Year 3 Trip to Kew Gardens

Year 3 were very excited on Tuesday to be going on their first trip as a class, to Kew Gardens. We started the day with  an insightful workshop, exploring rainforest produce and materials. We then pretended to be stranded in the Amazon rainforest and had to look out for plants we could use for shelter and food in the Palm House. We transitioned happily from falling sleet outside into the humidity of the glass house.  As Violet put it, "It was like a mini rainforest in a massive greenhouse. You could actually feel the wet, hot air. It was really cool!" 

After lunch in a cosy teepee, we enjoyed some time in the children's garden. The spirit of adventure continued as we then climbed up the treetop walkway to imagine what it would be like to climb a rainforest tree. We also saw some incredible views of the London skyline but the highlight for many of us was seeing two parakeets snuggling together in the trees. 

The children should be very proud of themselves for applying what they have learnt in the classroom and their immaculate behaviour on the trip.

Mrs Nicholson
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Reception and Year 1 Dinosaur Day

On Thursday 9th March, Reception and Year 1 gathered together to celebrate their joint topic ‘Dinosaurs’. The children came to school dressed as dinosaurs and began their day with dance. Following this Freddie P in Year 6 worked hard to prepare and present the children with a slideshow about dinosaurs, he spoke about the different periods dinosaurs lived in, how many millions of years ago they lived, and he finished by showing us an alphabet of dinosaurs, thank you so much Freddie, we really enjoyed your presentation. We worked in our Houses to earn House points by designing our own dinosaurs and writing about them descriptively. Mrs Henry baked some dinosaur cakes with us and in the afternoon we worked in our Houses to create a short dinosaur film. Finally, we finished our day by eating our delicious cakes and completing a dinosaur quiz. 

Miss Walpole
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The Book Fair this week has been a real success - thank you to everyone who has made purchases, which will allow the school to purchase many new titles for the library, free of charge. I do hope your children enjoy reading their new books. 

We had an important assembly from Mrs Knox this week, marking International Women's Day. The children were reminded how, although their school and households may be places where boys and girls are treated equally, there are still many areas in which to improve. Issues, such as the gender pay gap in the UK and women's rights to work and go to school in some countries, were highlighted, giving pupils pause to consider what they can all do to further eradicate inequalities and discrimination. 

Elsewhere in this Bulletin you'll read about GLive and Dinosaur Day, but I must just say how wonderful it was - at both fantastic events - to see our older pupils guiding, reassuring and inspiring our younger children. Our very youngest children, in Nursery, have been learning about Spring this week (in the snow!), and have changed their role play area into a vet/pet shop - with much hilarity and learning ensuing!

Lastly, if you can hear the sound of buckles being polished, cutlasses being sharpened and parrots being groomed, it's because our Plastic Pirates are soon to be taking to the open seas. We wish all the cast and crew the very best of luck next Monday and Tuesday, and hope you all enjoy the show-ho-ho...

Bronze Reading certificate: Sam PR

Values Certificates: Responsibility, Rowan B, Henry O'B and Harry L

Stars of the Week

Nursery: Heidi A for continued hard work and enthusiasm in class and improved cutting skills.

Reception: Gracie B for being willing to explore alternative spellings and accept errors may sometimes happen!

Year 1: Jenson B for settling into Year One so well, Jenson is always so kind and he always puts in lots of effort.

Year 2: Angus D for great focus during lessons and a positive, helpful attitude.

Elsie S for consistently challenging herself in Maths and English and for always being helpful.

The week started with the Year 7 cohort out on a trip to a Sikh Gurdwara in Southall, a hugely interesting visit which saw an exemplary level of behaviour from the year group at all times. Tuesday was a competitive day of sport for years 9-11 with House Basketball and House Hockey matches taking place alongside close-fought rugby and hockey matches against More House and Farlington. A snow-swept Wednesday was dominated by preparations for G Live but nonetheless many seniors found a few moments to make a snowman or throw a snowball or two! The event itself on Wednesday evening was, once again, a wonderful affair with so many fantastic performances. The confidence and ability levels Mr Rye and his team foster is outstanding and the positive resultant effect of performing in front of a large crowd like GLive can be so beneficial. 

Sadly, Thursday felt a little like the aftermath of battle driving up the drive, with half-melted snowmen strewn across the front pitch and torrential rain hammering down. Fortunately, a few spectacular chemical reactions in the Science Week Assembly on Friday morning soon raised the spirits, as did the buzz of those involved with GLive reliving their triumphs to those who were not able to attend.

Celebration Snack Break has today been attended by Ben O, Daniel S, Henry C, Tilly C and Leo H who have all reached the requisite number of Merit points. Well done to you all!

Mr Wilson

Easter Eggs Competition

EYFS-KS2 pupils are invited to design and decorate a 3D egg to celebrate Easter. Entries close on 22nd March 2023. For more information visit - https://www.isaschools.org.uk/arts/isa-arts-eyfs-and-primary/easter-egg-competition.html

BBC Young Writers Award (Ages 14-18) 

The BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University invites young people in the UK aged between 14 -18 years to submit short stories of up to 1,000 words. The Deadline for Entries is 20th March. More details and how to enter can be found here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2cslf9QxZKznVCqplBS0SY0/the-2023-bbc-young-writers-award-submissions-open

Mr Wyllie

Senior Girls' House Netball

On Tuesday all girls in Years 9, 10 and 11 took to the courts to represent their houses in house netball. The conditions were tough with the girls playing through snow flurries, but this did not dim the atmosphere with some amazing netball being played. The teamwork amongst the houses was great with the Year 11 captains taking charge and making sure substitutions were made quickly and fairly, allowing more time on the court for game play. The communication between teams on the court was inspiring, everyone cheering on their team members and encouraging those who were playing out of position with great positivity. The standard of netball was high and a great way to end the netball season! Congratulations to Kestrel who took the win in a thrilling game against Peregrine, and to Buzzard and Hawk who played a great game to secure 3rd and 4th place.

Miss Arnold

Boys' Hockey: U16 v. Farlington

This Tuesday, the U16 Boys' Hockey team travelled to Farlington for an away match. The game started very well for Duke of Kent School, with some good passing moves to move the ball forward. Duke of Kent School scored a well worked goal to take the lead, and in the second half had more opportunities to increase the teams lead. Unfortunately, being unable to get the second goal lead to a last minute equaliser, for the game to end in a draw. Well played to everyone involved, especially player of the game goalkeeper Harry D. 

Mr Orme 

Important - Next Thursday, the Ensembles Concert will now be starting at 7:00pm and Mr Rye will email information to those involved.

House Music finals

Last Friday saw our annual House Music Finals, held all afternoon in the PA Hall and involving the whole of Prep and Senior School. With the finalists' concert first, followed by the House Song competition and then a performance from our guest judge Isaac Stuart it was an afternoon filled with music, laughter and joyful group singing! With over 100 entries into the solo and group competition, it was a tricky process to whittle the entrants down to just a handful per category, and Isaac found it incredibly hard to judge between the finalists. However, there has to be a winner so congratulations to Florence A who won the Beginners category, Lola C and Herb M who were tied for first place in the Intermediate category and to Harley B who won the Advanced category. 

Controversially this year Isaac could not separate two of the Houses in the House Song category, so it was joint first place for Hawk and Kestrel, and then the overall winners of the whole competition were Buzzard. Huge congratulations to all the winners

Isaac himself was a delight all day, with a wonderful Q&A with our GCSE pupils in the morning, excellent feedback to the entrants in the afternoon and a mesmerising performance at the end of the day, in which he got the whole school singing along and then played his latest single release. Do check him out - he is definitely a rising star!

Click here for more photos

Mr Rye
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What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Spotify

With around 60,000 songs added to its online library every day, Spotify is a vast treasure trove of audio dating from some 19th century recordings through to giants of the download age like The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran. Factor podcasts, audiobooks and videos into the mix, and the Swedish-based streaming platform quite literally offers something for everyone.

Not everything in Spotify’s depths is universally suitable, however. The sheer mass of music and content on the platform mean that, naturally, not all of it is intended for younger listeners. With an audio chat service available and media reports of predatory activity, our guide highlights other aspects of Spotify which trusted adults ought to be in the loop about.

In the guide you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as age-inappropriate lyrics, an audio chat function and recent reports of predatory activity.

Click on the link to find out more information about "What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Spotify".

Mr Boden
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Please can parents of pupils in Years 3,4,5, 6 and 11 return fully completed medical forms for their Summer Term residential trips before the Easter holidays if possible. Forms can be handed in at the Front Office, given to Form Tutors, or handed directly in to Mrs Sarjant in the Medical Room.

Pupils attending the Ski Trip in March who need medication administered, must hand their medication in at school by next Friday 17th March for Mrs Sarjant to check and pack in the medical bag.

Parents of pupils in Year 10 who are attending the Geography Trip to Swanage and/or the Silver DofE Expedition in the summer term, please keep an eye out for medical forms coming home soon.  Please can I have these returned promptly to allow plenty of time to plan for the very busy summer term calendar!

Finally, a reminder that there are increasing numbers of coughs and colds in circulation at school, and we have had one confirmed case of Strep A so far this week (Senior school).  See the link below for more information on Strep A in particular: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/strep-a/

Please do not send children to school who have a fever of 37.8 or higher (without medication), as they are likely to be actively infectious.  Thank you.

Finally, please could we remind parents that if you are collecting your child when poorly, please sign them out in the Front Office on collection.

The School Nurses

PADoK News

PADoK Book Club

We would love you to join the PADoK Book Club on Thursday 23rd March.  We are currently reading “Snow Country” the new novel from the bestselling author Sebastian Faulks.   “Snow Country” moves from doomed love to post-war Vienna, and The Times described the book as 'Fascinating... A rich, dark story'.  It has also been described as “a superb novel, a love story of enormous emotional weight and a portrait of Europe torn apart”.  If you are not free to join us when we get together on 23rd March but want to be part of the Book Club, we would love for you to read the book and send in your comments to us to share on the night.

Duke of Kent School Singers

No singing this week due to GLive. As always please do remember that there is never any pressure to perform, no set plan to unless we want to. Our focus is always on enjoying singing and getting the most out of our time together. 

The group is a very fluid mix of past and present parents. Everyone is welcome to join at any time and we have a WhatsApp group you can dip in and out of as you’d like to. Please feel free to contact me directly if you are interested or have any queries rhodricathy@sky.com.

We would absolutely love to have some male voices coming more regularly. If you’re out there even slightly thinking about it, please come along and give it a go!

PADoK Walk –  Date for next walk - Friday 17th March, 08.30

Car Park 3 Hurtwood Control (Pitch Hill).  Everyone welcome.  Last Friday we enjoyed a lovely walk around Pitch Hill.  We decided to vary the route and explored some new paths.

Next Friday 17th March, do join us, it is very relaxed and a friendly bunch of parents.

PADOK Core Control

Strengthen your body, Improve Your Health with our Physio-Led Stability Group – Friday morning 08.30 at Ness Hall. Note: Name change but runners still welcome!  

We would love to see you on a Friday morning 08:30-09:00 for a quick weekly input, little and often is the key to building long term goals!

Mrs Phillips

Senior School Optional Hoodie

The Senior School hoodies have redesigned by members of the School Council and the finished product can be seen above.  They have done a fantastic job at putting this design together and now finally getting to see the finished product.

This new hoodie is available from Stevenson's on their website: https://www.stevensons.co.uk/.  There is also the option to have your child's initials printed onto the front of the hoodie for a slight additional cost, something we would advise to avoid mixing up tops with other pupils. This hoodie is not an essential item of School uniform, so there is no expectation for pupils to have it.

If you wish to see the sample, please pop into the Main Office to see me and have a look at the new hoodie.

Mrs Woolgar
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School Social Media

At Duke of Kent School we have three social media platforms; Instagram (dukeofkentschool), Twitter (@DoKSchool) and Facebook (Duke of Kent School). All of our social media accounts are public.

We recommend following all three accounts to receive push notifications with news, updates, educational articles, interactions with other schools, communities and public figures.

        

Mrs Woolgar