Sports Scholars trip to Cricket T20

On Friday evening, selected pupils in Years 7 to 10 travelled down to Hove, the home of Sussex Sharks, to watch them take on Hampshire Hawks in a T20 men's cricket match in the Vitality blast competition. As soon as we arrived we were given some crazy blue hats and 4 and 6 signs so the pupils were buzzing for the match to start!! The 1st Central Cricket Ground in Hove has nets for bowling practice and free face paint on offer so we took full advantage of all of the activities prior to the start of the match. It was a thriller game with some fantastic fast paced bowling and some incredible 6s! The highlight was an epic one handed diving catch right in front of us in the last few overs of the game. The pupils had a wonderful time enjoying the cricket and we hope they felt inspired after watching such a high standard! The game was very exciting with Sussex Sharks winning by just 6 runs so it went down to the very last over! It was a late night but well worth it! A big thank you to Mr Monk and Mr Herbert for joining us. 

Miss Vickers

Year 7 Trip to Shakespeare's Globe

Year 7 spent a glorious day on the sunny South Bank immersing themselves in Elizabethan acting, architecture and history at the iconic venue, Shakespeare’s Globe. 

We started our morning with a tour of the Globe theatre, where we were lucky enough to sit and observe some of the initial rehearsals of the bloody tragedy, ‘Macbeth’, which will begin its run this July. It was fantastic to see the actors in action!

After we soaked in the dramatic atmosphere in the theatre, it was Year 7’s turn to tread the boards in one of the Globe’s rehearsal rooms. Pupils confidently threw themselves into warm-up activities which included some beautifully staged tableaus and games which played with the conventions of status and power in conversation. The hour-long workshop with one of the Globe’s actors, Jessica, culminated in some fantastic interpretations of a scene from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. There were so many interesting and thoughtful versions of Titania and Oberon arguing; Year 7 should be very proud! A huge thank you to Mrs Rowley, Mr Watson and Frau Mack for accompanying us to London on Thursday. 

Mrs Southee

Year 7 Map Skills

The year 7s we're so very well behaved and engaged in an enriching map skills afternoon on Monday. We set off as a group after refreshing our ordnance survey skill set, and walked directly to Pitch Hill. From here we oriented ourselves using maps and compasses and spent some time identifying local landmarks and settlements. As staff, we were very proud of the pupils and saw that they gained much from the activity. A special thanks to Alex S who returned to join us as Year 11 Duke of Edinburgh Prefect.

Mr Allen 

Year 5 Assembly

On Thursday, 5G treated their parents and younger siblings to a performance of the Prodigal Son while highlighting the importance of forgiveness, which even included rhyming and the YMCA!  As this is their last assembly of the year, the children approached it with a superb level of commitment during the rehearsals, which resulted in a very confident and entertaining performance. Despite the script being very ambitious! Well done Year 5!

Mr Gritton

Pre-prep Father's Day

On a sweltering hot afternoon the children entertained their fathers for the annual Father's Day party at Forest school.  It was glorious, spending time in the forest, making flags and creating prints from natural materials.  Several impressive dens were created and many ice-lollies and cheese straws consumed!  Mr. Rye even joined the fun for a wonderful sing-along to a Pirate song.  Great time was enjoyed by everyone!

Mrs Henry

Visiting German Teacher  - Ina Mack

We are delighted to welcome back Ina Mack from Welzheim, Germany. Ina visited us as part of the UK German Connection scheme four years ago and made a hugely positive impact on the School in her time here. She will be with us for the next two weeks, seeing how we do things here at Duke of Kent School and sharing how they do things at her school, Bürgfeld-Gemeinschaftsschule Welzheim, as well as delivering German taster lessons throughout the school. She will be visiting the Globe with Year 7 and Legoland with Year 6 during her stay, and at the time of writing is up Pitch Hill with Year 7 (if their map-reading skills were up to it!). Ina will also have the opportunity to experience a British sports day of course! Next Friday, she will deliver an assembly sharing what she has learned from her two weeks in England. Many thanks to the Gregory family and the Wright family for offering her such warm hospitality.

Miss Francis

Since I last wrote an update, we've had Pre-prep dads in for a special Forest School celebrating Father's Day, and what a glorious day it was, too. The sun shone on everyone as the children and their dads made the most of the shade in their woodland surroundings, playing, building, chasing and generally having a fantastic time! The lollies were a most welcome treat after all that exertion. Since then, Year 6 have enjoyed an outing to a Buddhist Temple in Woking. Homed in a church that formed part of the former asylum complex, the temple is a very active and significant part of the Buddhist community in the South-east of England, most notably Thai nationals living in the UK. We were warmly welcomed with blessings (in the form of the monks chanting) and offerings which we, in turn, also offered to the monks. A fascinating insight into another culture right here on our doorstep in Surrey. 

Both Pre-prep and Prep Departments have hosted visiting pupils across several year groups, as parents consider if we are the school for them. Our pupils who act as guides are - without fail - not only super ambassadors for the School itself, but also extremely thoughtful and kind towards their charges for the day, taking the responsibility very seriously. We've also enjoyed the Year 5 assembly (about which you can read elsewhere in this Bulletin), reminding us of the importance of forgiveness. The next two weeks promise to be busy, as ever, but with plenty of opportunity for families to come and join in the fun; we very much hope to see you at the various concerts, Sports Days and assemblies lined up, not forgetting the sure-to-be-a-smash-hit, Pre-prep Summer Dance Show. Have a lovely weekend. 

Values Certificates:

Effort for Charlotte C, Arthur S, Ben Wr & Jasmine W

Aloud and Proud:

Arthur S and Layla B

Stars of the Week

Nursery: Emilia V for progress with mark making , good listening and motivation throughout the day.

Charlie R for working hard to develop independence during transitions, good listening and hard work.

Reception: Oli T for a fantastic attitude to learning in reading, swimming, writing and so much more!

Year 1: Ayla O for an amazing start to Year One.  Ayla has a wonderful attitude to learning!

Year 2: Rocket M for working independently during morning work and his excellent effort with English writing.

 

Mr Wright

Duke of Kent School Cricket Skills Workshop

On Friday we invited 4 schools to Duke of Kent School for a cricket workshop. We were joined by Holy Trinity School, Tillingbourne School, Wornesh and Shamley Green School, and Ripley Court School. The children rotated between 5 cricket stations to have a go at the different cricket skills. They had a go at bowling, batting, running between the wickets, fielding and a game of diamond cricket. The stations were enjoyed by all, with all of the children bringing great energy and questions in order to improve their skills. The chocolate donuts went down a treat, and it was a great morning for everyone!

Miss Arnold

ISA National Athletics 

On Monday 7 pupils from Duke of Kent School competed in the ISA National Athletics competition at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, representing London South against 6 other regions. Competing first was Ollie K in his 1500m race, he showed great determination as it was a very tough race with Ollie giving it his all until the end. Alfie H did amazingly well in the Cricket Ball competiton as he threw just shy of 40m and came 2nd which meant he got a Silver medal, a fantastic achievement. Rose S did very well as she competed in a tough 1500m field and showed fight until the end of the race. Emily B took part in Long Jump and came 4th just missing out a medal and then came 6th in her 800m race, she should real grit and should be proud of her performance as she was competing against girls in the year above. Rufus B had his own 800m which was a very fast race but Rufus held his own and managed to stay with the pack and record a very good time. Isaac P gave it his all in his 800m event coming in 8th with a very good time. Last to compete was Oscar H in his triple jump and 200m. He did incredbile as it was his first time competing in triple jump but with a distance of 10.43m he won bronze!!

Well done to all those who took part as you showed how talented you are and getting to the Nationals is a success in itself.

Mr Green

Boys' Cricket: U10/11 v. Frensham Heights

On Wednesday, the U10/11 A team played a pairs game against Frensham Heights. Duke of Kent School lost the toss and bowled first, Duke of Kent School bowled really well making it tough for the opposition to score runs freely. Some great fielding and catching as well was on display throughout the innings. In the second innings it was Duke of Kent School's turn to bat, and the innings started well with some good running in between the wickets and as the innings progressed some good boundary hitting shots were played, leading to a victory. Well played to everyone involved.

Mr Orme 

What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Money Muling

Criminal organisations digitally ‘launder’ the illegal profits of their operations (including scams and drug deals) by moving funds through innocent-looking accounts, which makes it harder for the police to track. To achieve this, they often recruit young people – money mules – who are trusting enough to be taken in by their advances and simply see an easy way to make some cash.

These impressionable youngsters are sometimes approached to take part in person – but more commonly it happens through social media, where the criminals use euphemistic titles like ‘money transfer agencies’. Our guide takes a look at this emerging online hazard, highlighting how trusted adults can help to protect young people from money muling.

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

Also, Internet Matters is a great website that can help you deal with online issues, give you advice for different age groups and give you step-by-step guides for setting controls for different devices.

Mr Boden

To Hull and Back Humorous Short Story Competition

The To Hull and Back Humorous Short Story Competition, run by Christopher Fielden, is open to writers from around the world until 30th June 2023. Stories should be no longer than 2500 words.

Prizes:
1st Prize- £1,200, your head on the To Hull And Back Anthology cover and a trip to Hull on a Harley Davidson
2nd Prize – £600
3rd Prize – £300
3 x Highly Commended – £150
14 x Shortlisted – £75
20 x Longlisted – 1 x free early bird entry fee for the next competition (worth £13)

Entry fees:
Early bird (until 31st March 2023): £13 for 1 story, £21 for 2 stories, £26 for 3 stories.

More details can be found here - https://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-competition/

Hen Harrier Action - Best Young Wild Writers Competition (Ages 6-16)

Write a Story, poem, article or letter on the subject of Animal Survival. The word count is up to 500 words.

Judging criteria: Originality, underlying ideas, how the writer engages and communicates, fresh views on a subject; entries will not be judged on spelling and grammar.
Deadline for submissions: 10th July 2022
Overall winner: RSPB Puffin Binoculars and £50 book voucher

Winner of each age category: £50 book voucher
For more information visit - https://www.henharrierday.uk/get-involved/young-wild-writers/

Mr Wyllie

This month and particularly this week, I have been focusing on the idea of inclusivity and celebrating difference. June is Pride month and the 22nd-26th of June is Diversity week. An opportunity for us all to consider how important it is for all young people to feel welcomed and represented in the communities they inhabit. 

Just Like Us, an LGBT+ young people’s charity, talks about the importance of raising awareness and acknowledging the difficulties LGBT+ young people may face growing up and in other aspects of their life. 

School Diversity Week is a vital opportunity to bring together the school community and celebrate difference. LGBT+ pupils today are twice as likely to be bullied, face daily tension at home and endure disproportionate challenges to their wellbeing – school must be the place where they can be themselves.

Next Thursday, 29th of June, at 1pm in the Wellbeing room, we will host the second forum for pupils to discuss issues relating to this topic and how they feel others and their own lives’ could be improved. 

At the first LGBT+ forum, the pupils decided they would like the name to be changed to Diversity Forum to more fully represent all nature of difference: gender, race, neurodiversity, nationality, religion etc. and avoid the pigeonholing of who is able to come and why. This typifies the accepting and supportive nature of so many of our pupils here at Duke of Kent School. 

We felt it was a great idea that it remains a non-judgemental, safe and very accepting forum to discuss all matters, stories and the reality, relating to and about diverse groups.

One of the dictionary definitions for diversity is ‘the fact of there being many different things existing together in a group’ and as such, for all of those different groups within the group, their experience is as valid and worthy as the next. 

Parents looking for support with their own child(ren), may find these links useful.

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/10-recommendations-supporting-lgbtq-children-and-young-people

https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/gender-identity/

https://www.autism.org.uk/directory/n/neurodiverse-parenting

https://www.mindworks-surrey.org/our-services/neurodevelopmental-services/support-families

All pupils are welcome to attend next Friday.

Mrs Douglas

The heat and pollen levels continue to both remain high.  Please can pupils take antihistamine before school if they suffer from hayfever - we particularly recommend this for pupils with a history of asthma (who should be carrying their reliever inhaler at all times at school and most especially have it available for games and matches).  All pupils and staff are encouraged to drink plenty of water.

We are also aware of a case of Head Lice (Nits) in Prep School this week.  See below for information and advice.  If you find head lice on your child, please treat them as soon as you can (preferably before sending them back to school).  Thank you:

 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

Well done to Year 9 pupils for braving their DTP and MenACWY immunisations this morning - that's all your school injections done (any new pandemics notwithstanding!).  It looks like the Nasal Flu Immunisation may be offered to all years (apart from Nursery) at school in the Autumn Term (Friday 13th October), although the government have yet to make a final decision on exactly which year groups will definitely qualify.  Please can all pupils avoid appointments out of school on this date if they would like to have the immunisation.  Information on how to complete parental consents to follow at a later date.

Finally - lots more trips to look forward to next Tuesday in particular (Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11) - don't forget to give travel nausea medication and hayfever medication to your child before school if they need it!

The School Nurses

PADoK News

Party in the PADoK

What an amazing evening we had on Saturday.  Thank you all so much for coming and supporting the PADoK event with such high spirits.  We haven’t seen the bar so busy!!! 

Huge thanks must go to our talented Year 10 & 11 pupils who gave their time to come and perform for us.  You are all such great performers so a big thank you.  Thanks also to Mr Rye for helping them with the set up.

Mrs Coles had a festival glitter table and this proved incredibly popular.  There was a constant line of people waiting to get glittered and stickered!!!  Thank you so much for doing this for the event Mrs C.

Daniel from The Great Big Pig served us delicious hog roast rolls with homemade apple sauce and really good crackling.  Hopefully the vegetarian version was as tasty.  The salads were good too and plentiful.  Thank you to Mr and Mrs Newman for preparing and serving the strawberries, cream and meringues, delicious on a warm summer evening.

The Accidentals began performing outside which got everyone in the mood for dancing.   They then carried on their set in the Performing Arts Hall and as always were fantastic and entertaining with some great new material.  The dance floor was full of very happy people!  The atmosphere was electric so a huge thank you to Mr Rye and his fellow band members for a great night of music and dancing.

Thank you to the school for accommodating our event.  To the Party in the PADoK team, you all worked really hard to make this event happen.  A lot of planning, setting up and taking down takes place to ensure these events are a success, so thank you so much for all your time and effort, it was worth it!

Second Hand Uniform Shop

We are low on PE kit so if you have any that you plan to hand in please do leave it in the box outside the shop.  Thank you.

Duke of Kent School Singers – Thursdays 08.20 – 09.00am

This week was one of two final run throughs of our song ‘Brave’ before an opportunity to perform at the upcoming summer concerts. Everyone gave it their all and it certainly showed. It sounded fantastic! 

This has been a real example of the power of singing in a choir. I’ve had many conversations over the last few weeks with people feeling nervous on this one. It was truly wonderful watching us find our confidence in each other this morning and hearing it come together so completely brilliantly! Everyone, including those who’ve chosen not to perform, should be incredibly proud of themselves for committing to the piece, practising and being ‘Brave’ enough to step out there and enjoy singing it, be that in the PA Hall as a group each week, or in front of the school community in a few days time. The lyrics and our coming together, hold such power, a huge achievement for all!!

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 Core Control: Strengthen your body, Improve Your Health with our Physio-Led Stability Group.

The core fitness group was challenged to the max with coordination exercises and side ankle work and fast footwork to help promote balance and stability for walkers, runners, sports people and for general stability.

PADoK Walk

Friday 16^th June and Wednesday 21st^th June.  We have fitted in two walks since the last bulletin, both were fun and enjoyable.  It is always a great opportunity to meet other parents in the school community in a very relaxed setting.

Next walk: Friday 30^th June – 08.30 at Car Park 3 Pitch Hill.  Everyone welcome.

PADoK Book Club  – The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

We will be meeting up at the Hurtwood Inn in Peaslake hurtwoodinn.com on Thursday, 6^th July at 8pm to catch up on our most recent book club read “The Music Shop” by Rachel Joyce.  We would love it if you could join us to share our views about the book and if you cannot make it, please send in your thoughts on the book to Mrs Newman on her email claire@bluetreerecruits.co.uk but we hope to see you there!

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

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