Mobile Phones at Duke of Kent School

On Monday, the senior students had an assembly outlining the school rules on mobile phones after a review of the current provision. The review consisted of collecting opinions and thoughts of the students, parents and staff, as well as looking at some of the research on the impact of mobile phones at school. Thank you to those who took part in conversations, and to the parents who took the time to fill out the questionnaire.

The upshot of the review is that we remain a ‘Mobile Free’ school. Parents unanimously backed up this approach with their responses to the questionnaire as did staff feedback. Students expressed their desire to have their phones to listen to music and contact home during the day and to accommodate these requests we are looking at ways to stream music on their school devices and reiterated that the front office is always open to ring home. One of the biggest factors in the decision was the review of research available I undertook. The following papers were extremely useful in making the decisions we did:

Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (Finds that even the presence of mobile phones (in bags or on desks) reduces cognitive capabilities)

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211333655.pdf 

Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance (Finds that having mobile phones at school causes enough distraction equivalent to 5 days of school a year)

http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1350.pdf 

We are proud to be a ‘Mobile Free’ school as this fits in with our values and we appreciate your support in ensuring that school remains so.

Mr Southee

Year 7 House Hockey

On Wednesday saw the year 7 pupils compete in their house hockey tournament. It was brilliant to see all the pupils involved showing the skills they have been working hard practicing in lessons.The tournament began with Armstrong playing Chichester and Hillary taking on Whittle. It was a very tight contest with Armstrong winning 1-0 with a goal from Tiago W. Whittle proved too strong for Hillary with Matthew A scoring 2 and Thomas B scoring the 3rd. The second round of games saw Armstrong playing Hillary and Chichester playing Whittle. Armstrong continued their good form with some lovely team play and composure in front of goal to win 4-0 with goals from Jessica I, Daisy N, Jamie P and Leo T-R. Chichester versus Whittle ended in a 2-2 draw with Niamh A scoring 2 goals and Isaac P and Matthew A scoring another. This was a tightly fought game with some great cross field passing and counter attack hockey from Whittle. In the final round of league matches saw Armstrong play Whittle and Chichester take on Hillary. Armstrong managed to win their 3 match 2-1 with goals from Leo T-R and Isaac P for Whittle. In the other game saw Chichester win 3-1 with a hat trick from Niamh and a well worked team back post goal from Isabelle H. The 3rd and 4th playoff saw Chichester play Hillary with it being a closer match resulting in a 1-0 win for Chichester due to a goal from Xander S. Next up was the Final and it was a rematch for Armstrong and Whittle. Both teams showed solid defence with the game finishing 2-2 with goals from Tiago W and Isaac P. This meant it had to be decided by shuffles, each team having 8 seconds to run from the halfway line into the D and score a goal. Both teams scored their first 2 penalties before Troy K won it for Armstrong by saving Whittle’s 3rd attempt. Congratulations to everyone for taking part as there was some high standard hockey on show with some fantastic saves from the 4 goalkeepers, Troy K, Chester B, James B and Henry C.  

Mr Green

Year 9 House Hockey

It was an extremely chilly but wonderfully blue Tuesday afternoon and Year 9 pupils were ready and raring to go for their House Hockey Tournament on the Wilsons’ Pitch. The tournament began with Armstrong taking on Chichester whilst Hillary took on Whittle. Both games had plenty of goals as each house communicated well to create exciting chances! Chichester took the lead against Armstrong but couldn’t hold on as Armstrong crossed the ball into the D and it was calmly finished to equalise in the last play of the game, 2-2. Hillary proved too strong for Whittle in the second half, with Tom H racing through the defence, their score finished 4-1. Next up, Armstrong took on the in form Hillary team. They went 3-1 down but almost made an epic comeback as they had plenty of chances to level up the scores, Hillary hung on to win 3-2. Chichester and Whittle fought with excellent determination and effort as Josh N and Leo H linked up nicely for Chichester whilst Calum McK made some great runs for Whittle. It was another draw, finishing 3-3! After a quick break, the final matches got under way. Armstrong played Whittle and an impressive 8 goals were scored in total, Maddie I added to the goals from Armstrong as they managed to score 5 and win the game. Meanwhile, Chichester and Hillary displayed some brilliant defence, with Chichester just managing to score to win the game 1-0. However, next up was the FINAL and it was a rematch for Chichester and Hillary! Amazingly, Hillary learnt from their last game against Chichester and played some of their best hockey, a great goal scored by Alex S secured the win, 2-0! Armstrong came 3rd thanks to a speedy run from Alex W and Whittle came in 4th. Well done to everyone involved for a great afternoon of hockey!

Miss Vickers

Year 3 and 4 House Hockey

The Year 3 and 4 House Hockey was played in great spirits with everyone getting stuck in, all the games were close contests as seen by the results. The first matches were played as semi-finals between Hillary vs Armstrong and Whittle vs Chichester. Hillary were the winners in their first match with a 1-0 win, it was a good team performance with William T scoring the goal to give his team the lead. Whittle were the winners of the other semi-finals which came down to a penalty shuffle victory from Henry O’B after a 0-0 score line in the match. The 3^rd and 4^th playoff was played between Chichester vs Armstrong ended in a 0-0 draw with the penalty shuffle being won by Chichester’s Hubert S to give his team the win. The Final was played between Hillary vs Whittle with Hillary being victorious with a 1-0 win thanks to a great solo goal by the player of the tournament Thibaut J. 

Final Results:  

1^st – Hillary  

2^nd – Whittle  

3^rd – Chichester  

4^th – Armstrong  

Mr Orme

The Christmas Shoebox Appeal

The Charity Committee would like to thank everyone who donated Christmas Shoeboxes to the Samaritan’s Purse ‘Operation Christmas Child’ appeal. 

Mr Watson

The 100 Club Winners

1st prize - £220 – Mr Bates and  Ms Gilsenan  (Year 7)

2^nd prize - £132 – Mr and Mrs J Burr (Year 10)

3^rd prize – £88 – Mrs Aitken (Years 7, 9 and 11)

As we did for the Autumn term, we will be emailing the Spring Term fee notes  to parents rather than sending hard copies through the post. If you haven’t received our email  by December 21^st please  double check your Junk email (just in case!) and if you still believe you haven’t received it  could you email cfinill@dokschool.org. 

Chris Finill

Performing Arts Roof

We are currently replacing the roof of the Performing Arts Hall as the original roof has come to the end of its useful life and leaks were becoming a regular feature. The work will take approximately four weeks to complete and has been arranged to ensure that there is little or no disruption to the School community during this period. If you are using the top car park please take extra care as there is likely to be more activity than usual.

Mr Stacey

Stars of the Week

Nursery - Harry R for displaying independence and persistence whilst putting on his shoes and having super table manners.

Reception - Florence H for wonderful sentence writing, remembering a capital letter, finger spaces and a full-stop in your work. 

Year 1 -  Violet W for improved concentration in the classroom.

Year 2 - Sam P-R for a super attitude towards his learning and for improved listening and concentration.

Mrs Henry

The Performing Arts News

We have had an incredibly busy week in the PA Department! Filming of the Pre-prep Christmas Fizzmas Show has begun, the Prep Concert pieces have been performed and filmed, choirs for the Carol Service have been filmed and the Year 11 production is in full swing! 

Please do join us for the two live streamed events:

Friday 4th December - 7pm - the Prep Christmas Concert. 

It wil be alovely evening with performances from any of the Prep pupils, and a chance to win an M&S Hamper in our Festive Family Fancy Dress Competition! 

It also features the entire school singing together...

The link is below.

https://youtu.be/YH54nhZ4uMQ

And next Wednesday the School Carol Service, from 6pm, streamed from St Nicolas Church in Cranleigh. This year a more reflective seasonal affair, featurng all the school choirs, pre-recorded of course but with some live readings and even a a couple of live carols as well.

https://youtu.be/G5bmncxL3TE

Mr Rye

E-Safety Tips

What age can my child start social networking?

As a parent it's important you know that all social networking platforms (or social networking apps, if on a smartphone) have age limits. Some social networks that mightn't be right for some ages, or engage with communities that are made up of people much older than your child. 

Click on the link below to find out more information:

https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/what-age-can-my-child-start-social-networking/

Mr Boden

PADoK News

The winners of the Christmas Hampers are:

Millie D (Year 11)

Lucian R  (Year 8)

Charlie L (Year 6)

Charlie S (Reception)

Jamie P (Year 7)

Simon F (Year 2)

Michele R (Nursery Teacher)

Saoirse W (Year 7)

Oscar D-K (Year 8)

Ariane L  (Year 8)

Alex F (Year 8)

Alex W (Year 9)

Eliza R (Year 2)

Eva P-R (Year 6)

Laura A (Year 11)

Henry O'B (Year 4)

Violetta P (Year 8)

Congratulations everyone and we look forward to collecting your festive prizes!

Thank you so much to all of you who supported our raffle this year and a huge thank you to Thandi H, Sarah S and Michelle K who have worked tirelessly to ensure this event was a success.  Thanks also go to Tracy L and Rachel B for their help this year.

PADoK Christmas Hamper Team

PADoK Walk

Despite the cold we had a great turn out for the PADoK walk this morning.  We set off from the Pitch Hill car park and naturally fell into small groups.  There were lots of dogs having a lovely time, though at times it was difficult to tell whose was whose!!!

Some groups took different routes and others peeled off early.  

We look forward to introducing a walk every two weeks starting in January and hope to be able to serve hot drinks and cake again soon.

PADoK Team

School Social Media

At Duke of Kent School we have two social media platforms, Twitter (@DoKSchool) and Instagram (dukeofkentschool). 

Our Twitter account is public however, our Instagram account is private to keep it strictly for the Duke of Kent School community only. You will need to request to follow the account. 

Please do follow the accounts to receive the regular updates and to see highlights from each day at School.  There is a link to the Twitter account below.

Miss Vernon

Shere and Peaslake Scouts Christmas Tree Appeal