Senior School Updates

With Half Term now upon us it is important to reflect on this remote learning period and acknowledge the hard work and application that has been so prevalent in the households of our students. The extra challenges of working from home can be an intense source of frustration but the mature way such challenges have been dealt with is a huge credit to them as we all strive for a positive outcome. Fingers crossed we are very much on the home straight now and I for one cannot wait to see our students back in school as soon as it is safe to do so.

Commendations this week go to Rose S, Rufus B, Annabelle R, Ella S and Bobby F for their fabulous work in Spanish, learning and performing a tongue twister and following a Spanish recipe in the kitchen. Also in Year 8, Kai G is receiving two commendations this week, one for his outstanding composition in Music and his second for his poem The Hoodie in English, for which Bobby F also received a commendation. In Year 7 Moxon K, Fraser R and Daisy R receive commendations for their ongoing efforts in Science, Niamh A for her outstanding work regarding why people choose to live near volcanoes in Geography, Zac W and Moxon K (again!) for their ongoing efforts in English. Tom S, in Year 11, our DofE Ambassador, is also commended for making a hugely helpful and informative short film about how to use the DofE App. Well done to all of you! It is great to hear of such wonderful work being produced.

I wish you all a restful and happy half-term.

Mr Wilson

Coming Up After Half Term

Duke of Kent School does Potter!

We are excited to announce today the launch of a new school creative idea, similar to last summer's Three Little Birds project, but this term focused on the film 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. 

Involving Years 3 - 11 this will see the pupils recreating classic scenes from the film at home using whatever they can get their hands on as props, scenery, costumes and special effects! It is being run through forms and all the information has gone to the children today in form time and via Mr Rye's assembly. All the clips will then be edited together into a final film.

If you want a laugh then do watch the staff version below, which some of them made earlier in the week as 'inspiration'. It will also give you an idea of what we are trying to achieve. It would be a perfect half-term activity!

https://youtu.be/WnCht-Su6xU

Mr Rye

Year 4 visit Ancient Egypt

On Tuesday, Year 4 went on a school trip - all the way to Leeds City Museum!  Our talk was delivered by Natalie, who gave us a tour round the Ancient Worlds Gallery, where we particularly focused our attention on the final resting place of Nesyamun, a 3000 year old mummy.  We then looked more closely at specific features: he had no nose, but the fact that his tongue was sticking out was a sign that perhaps he had died from an allergic reaction, maybe from an insect bite; his teeth were in relatively good condition which suggested he had lived on a diet that was largely plant-based and low in sugar; he had been discovered with a small leather ornament, with 'Rameses the eleventh' written on it.  This indicates the time in which he would have lived.  In fact, he is the only known mummy to hail from the 20th Dynasty.  We also looked at sarcophagus, which was beautifully decorated with hieroglyphs, and discussed why it might have had two lids.  The children made excellent suggestions such as 'to protect the mummy from grave robbers' and 'to protect it from wild animals'.

After our tour of the museum, we were talked through the process of mummification, using props that we had already gathered.  While a doll was used to show the process at the museum, we replicated the different stages at home by hooking out slimy strands of cooked spaghetti through a hole in a bag to represent removing the brain through the nostril. Then we put our hands into bags to remove the other 'organs' (squelchy wet sponges and flannels).  We had also brought along spices such as cinnamon and cumin to get a sense of what the mummies might have smelt like, once they had been carefully preserved in natron and perfumed with incense.

It was a fantastic insight into the life of an individual and we came away feeling we had made rather a connection with Nesyamun.  4N were wonderful ambassadors of the school - inquisitive, polite and fantastic historical detectives! 

Mrs Nicholson

Photography Competition

The days are beginning to get longer....spring (believe it or not) is just around the corner. It's that fabulous time of year when we announce the launch of our annual Duke of Kent School Photographer of the Year competition. This year's competition has been set by our Artist in Residence (and ex-pupil) Gemma Brunton. Gemma is based in Sailsbury and has recently completed a photographic investigation into the positive side of childhood in lock-down. Gemma has sent us a really instructive video, filled with tips and ideas, to kick the competition off with. It contains this year's theme so make sure you watch it before you start shooting.

You can use anything from a top end SLR to a cracked smart phone to capture your images, and feel free to use image editing software if you would like. The competition will run from now until the half term holiday after  Easter. Just keep uploading your best photos to the Photography Competition google classroom as you take them, ready for Gemma to judge.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjm-p2E0_g8

Good luck everyone and happy snapping!

Mr Watson

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Parents have been emailed a fantastic video from Tom S (Year 11), one of Duke of Kent School's DofE Ambassadors, explains the advantages of logging onto the DofE App on your phone rather than on another device. Make sure you give it a watch!

Now for anybody wondering what to do for their Physical activity might consider the BBC Sports 'Couch to 5Km' App (Apple and Android). This is a very popular way of getting fitter by walking/running very steadily and gradually improving each week.

This smartphone app will get you confidently running 5k in just nine weeks. Add another 3 weeks topping up and that's your Physical done!

Perhaps do this with a friend or family member? You could be inspired by Laura (a mum!), who got back into running during lockdown. She is one of five virtual coaches you can choose from who will guide you through the nine weeks with tips, hints and motivational advice. Laura joins comedian Sarah Millican, Radio DJ Jo Whiley, 13-time Olympic and World Championship gold medallist Michael Johnson and comedian and actor Sanjeev Kohli in the app.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/43501261

Mr Lodge

House Updates

This week we launched a House Crafts Competition which the Prep and Senior pupils can get stuck into during their half-term break. They have until 24th February to submit their homemade masterpieces for judging. All of the necessary information can be found on the House Classrooms or you can use this link to access the Google Doc:

(https://docs.google.com/document/Craftscompetition)

An updated version of the Leaderboards was posted in each of the House Classrooms this afternoon and the following link will allow you to look through them if you wish to (House Leaderboard- End of Spring 1). This copy also includes the overall results from the MFL Idiom competition and shows how each House has improved over the last week. 

Congratulations to Tansy-Bela T and William T, who won the Prep MFL Idiom Competition, as well as Violetta P and Chester B who won the Senior competition (see below).

We very much enjoyed looking through the impressive attempts that were submitted for the Picture Recreation competition. It was certainly a challenge to pick two winning entries! However, a decision was made. 

Congratulations to Violetta and Auberon P who submitted incredible recreations from the Eddie the Eagle film and Mary Poppins. Overall, Whittle won the competition, with Chichester close behind them in second place. 

Mr Gritton

Weekly Wellbeing

As we approach the Half Term, my hope is that pupils, parents and staff are able to take a break from remote learning and enjoy a well-deserved rest. The importance of rest and sleep in particular, is well documented, yet it is something we never really consider until it becomes a problem. This week I want to focus on the importance of sleep and some tips for those struggling.

For those who already suffered with sleep issues, the pandemic and the impacts of lockdown may have further exacerbated these. Those who don’t usually suffer from sleep disturbance, may have found they have begun to experience sleep problems. The added stress and anxiety during the uncertainty of changing lockdown rules has added to a difficulty in sleeping, as has the change in normal routine and a disruption of usual circadian rhythms. Increased screen time affecting light level exposure and social isolation can also affect our sleep patterns. In turn, poor sleep can then be detrimental to our ability to cope with daily life and our ability to maintain our mental health; it becomes a vicious circle. Thinking clearly and managing our own emotions is more difficult when we are tired.

Ensuring we do everything we can to allow for good sleep is really important to protecting our mental health. The following tips may aid better sleep.

• Avoiding eating, caffeine and exposure to screens at least 30 minutes before going to bed

• Getting regular exercise and fresh air during the day

• Sleep environment should be cool, dark, quiet and comfortable

• Pre-bedtime routines - mindfulness, breathing, warm drink, bath, reading etc.

• Managing worries/anxieties by talking about them in the day, or writing down in a journal  to deal with in waking hours

• Visit https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/healthy-sleep-tips-for-children/ for more tips.

Have a restful half term and sleep well!

Mrs Douglas, Wellbeing Coordinator 

E-Safety Tips

6 | Bedtime bans 

Making sure your family gets the right amount of sleep is crucial to healthier offline lives. Remove the temptation and improve their sleep quality (and perhaps your own) by ensuring phones and other devices are charging outside the bedroom at night.

Mr Boden

A Message from the Medical Room

This week, Covid-19 infection rates locally have continued to fall, (we have had no further positive cases amongst our school community to my knowledge), and the vaccine roll-out has continued in full flow.  Any of your relatives in England aged 70+ who have not yet been invited for a Covid-19 vaccine, are now encouraged to contact the NHS or their GP to make an appointment to have their first vaccination.

Despite all the progress being made, we do of course remain in lockdown, with "stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives" still being the main message from the government (even for those who have been fortunate to have had their first vaccination).  Therefore, we are going to all have to think of innovative, but safe ways to entertain ourselves during the break, that do not threaten to undo all of our hard work.  With this in mind, please follow the link below to some advice from Public Health England on how to stay safe this half term.

Public Health Matters

Mrs Sarjant

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