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A Message from Mrs Knox
 What a wonderful first week back! The sunshine greeted us as the children arrived on Tuesday and, despite the rain later this week, a sense of positivity has pervaded the school (despite early morning starts!). There have been some great highlights for me: the wide eyes of Year 3 as they discovered their huge playground, chatting to our parents at the Parent Information events, announcing Kora and Casper as Head Girl and Head Boy, watching Year 7 navigate the maze as a team at Sayers Croft and observing great connections as staff engage with pupils. However, for one Prep pupil, when I asked what his favourite part of the week was, the answer was obvious: chocolate custard of course! It is simply wonderful to have the term underway!
Mrs Knox
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Meet our New Heads of School
 Casper C joined Duke of Kent School in 2013. He started in Pre-prep after returning from a stint in Mallorca. He has been active, as part of the School Council, a member of the SATRO team, the Salters Chemistry challenge, in the English Literature quiz. He likes Coding, Walking and mountain bike riding and has played Football, Rugby and Hockey for the school. His presence around the School is underpinned by a gentle charm and humour. He is approachable and kind.
Kora W joined Duke of Kent School in 2013. She started in Year 3. Kora is an all-rounder in School life. She represents Duke of Kent School sports teams, sings in the School choirs and orchestras, is part of the School Council, a winner of House Bake Off and has played The Last Post on Trumpet in front of the whole School for Remembrance Day for the past few years. Kora is an approachable, friendly and modest representative in our School.
Mr Wilson
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New Staff
 Miss Martin joins us from Loughborough University, she is in her third year of a Sport and Exercise Science Degree. She is a keen hockey player who has played for Canterbury in the Premier League and recently represented English Universities. She is very excited to be joining Duke of Kent School and can’t wait to get started!
 As a Duke of Kent School alumnus many of you will already know Mr Browning, who returns after finishing his A Levels at Hurtwood House. He will be joining us as a Performing Arts Assistant bringing a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and experience to the department. As well as being a keen musician, he is also an accomplished technician with creative flair and a sense of wonder that he is looking forward to sharing with the pupils.
 Mrs Lwambo is really excited to be joining such a wonderful Science department and the DoK community. In Rwanda she found the best thing about teaching at the International School of Kigali was the diversity of her students, who came from all over the world and taught her so much about different lives and cultures. She is really looking forward to sharing all she learned with the pupils, as well as inspiring them with her passion for the environment and sustainability. Mr Seeley
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2020 - 2021 Attitude to Learning Winners
The Attitude to Learning prizes are our most important awards for they recognize the qualities we most want to develop here. Pupils are rewarded for their consistent effort, enjoyment of learning and for the way they respond in and out of the classroom to both their successes and failures.
Nursery: Maddie C (ATL) and Harry S (Progress in ATL)
Reception: George F (ATL) and Ottilie H (Progress in ATL)
Year 1: Douglas S (ATL) and Violet W (Progress in ATL)
Year 2: Eliza R (ATL) and Oscar F (Progress in ATL)
3N: Jasmine W (ATL) and Rebekah S (Progress in ATL)
4N: Thibaut J (ATL) and William T (Progress in ATL)
5G: Poppy F (ATL) and Elliot S (Progress in ATL)
6W: Arthur D-K (ATL) and Jude B (Progress in ATL)
6E: Tom S (ATL) and Charlie L (Progress in ATL)
Year 7: Florrie P, Alex K and Quentin J
Year 8: Ozzie H, Josh E and Rose S
Year 9: Macy B, Ben E and Alanna H
Year 10: Will W, Kora W and Emma B
Mr Macdonald
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Prep and Pre-prep School News
Our academic year 21/22 is underway! It has been fantastic to see the corridors bustling, the Dining Room full and hear the sounds of children chatting and laughing again following the summer break. Pupils have taken on new roles of responsibility such as being ‘buddies’ and ‘table prefects’ to support younger peers in earnest, and we feel proud of the mature and responsible way the children have started the term.
Our pupils were welcomed back to school with some glorious sunshine, which allowed ample opportunity to get out and enjoy our beautiful school grounds. Junior Jungle has been a highlight for Prep School pupils, where dens are already being established and jobs assigned. As seen this week, inclement weather always tends to be around the corner, so we would be grateful if school coats, waterproof trousers and wellington boots are available in school and ready for use at all times.
 The children have spent their first few days settling into their new surroundings: acquainting themselves with their timetable, meeting their teachers and building and strengthening new and existing friendships. Since ‘bubbles’ are no longer in force, children have also been able to return to using the full range of facilities in our specialist rooms, such as the music block and DT workshop, they have returned to the pool and enjoyed stretching their legs on Wilsons’ Pitch. I know the availability of the changing rooms and kit remaining in school has also been welcomed as much by parents as by the pupils!
I, personally, was thrilled to welcome parents into the school buildings this week for our various information meetings. We have missed you, and I do hope you found these events not only useful from an educational and administrative perspective, but also from a social one, too. I very much look forward to meeting more of you in the coming weeks, as matches and assemblies return.
Mrs Green
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Senior School News
It has been wonderful to see your children back in school this week and return to a degree of normality. Whilst we continue to be vigilant, with hand washing and lateral flow testing now the norm, it was nonetheless especially heartening to host the senior school in the hall for assembly this week, having been unable to for so long.
Another highlight for me was being able to meet so many of you on Wednesday at our Parents Information Evening, especially getting to meet a few new faces and catch up in an informal setting. Please do not worry if you were unable to make this but rest assured that should you have any questions or concerns we are always keen to hear from you.
Our new starters have already shown themselves to be a wonderfully positive influence in the school and will undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset. Year 7 in particular have been getting to grips with the many new systems and embarked in a series of challenges at Sayer Croft on Friday, including axe throwing, blindfold trails and maze escapes.
Commendations this week have been awarded to Celine C (Y10) for completing her Bronze DofE Award (the first in her year to do so!) and to Ahmed M (Y9) for his kind and supportive acts helping others around the school this week. Well done to you both! A great start to the year.
Mr Wilson
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Performing Arts News
 It's wonderful to be open and seeing lots of children back in the PA Hall for dance lessons, drama lessons and music rehearsals. Some of the younger children have only been in there a couple of times! We have a busy, busy term of Performing Arts joy ahead and next week we will publish a 'Dates for the Diary' in the bulletin.
Peripatetic Lessons
Instrumental and LAMDA lessons start from next week and timetables for each teacher are up in the usual places. If your pupil does not know where to go then they do not need to panic! The relevant teacher will come and find them. If you have any queries please drop Mr Rye a line.
New Email Address
On that note we have a new central email address for queries relating to such things as instrumental and LAMDA lessons. Please use PADept@dokschool.org for general queries and this will be seen by Mr Rye, Mrs Honey and Mr Kaye who will then deal with the relevant response.
LAMDA Exam Success
During the Summer Holidays we received our LAMDA exam results, which were nothing short of spectacular! The pupils achieved 27 Distinctions and 7 Merits. Huge congratulations to them all and of course to Miss Raye, our inspirational LAMDA teacher.
Mr Rye
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E-Safety Tips
Be cautious with your profile
Be careful not to give out too much info on your social media or gaming profiles. Details like your full name, address or school’s name could all help strangers to actually find you offline. A trusted adult can help you make your profiles private – so only your family and actual friends can contact you.
Be smart with screen time
Too much screen time, especially just before bed, can affect your quality of sleep. Losing sleep, or not sleeping well enough, messes with your concentration and energy levels. Try muting notifications so you don’t get pinged late at night: you’ll feel fresher and more focused the next day.
Learn to spot fake news
If you’re looking into a topic for prep or a project, be careful not to get taken in by fake news: content that’s deliberately created to mislead people. Check the story with credible sources, like the BBC or Sky News. Trust your instincts, too – if it seems too unbelievable to be true, it’s probably fake.
Mr Boden
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Weekly Wellbeing
Firstly, I’d like to extend a very warm ‘welcome back!’ to all our pupils and parents and a hugely warm ‘welcome!’ to all our new pupils and parents. It has been lovely to chat with so many of you over the last few days and catch up with you about your summer breaks.
I’ve been delighted to see so many smiling faces return to a, hopefully, more straightforward academic year. I’m also aware that for some of you, the smiles may mask some other worries and anxieties about returning, or beginning a new school.
Please make sure you share these with your family, friends or form teachers, rather than carry them alone. You can also drop into the Wellbeing room during one of my Open Door sessions, if you feel you need somebody to talk to.
These will run at the following times:-
Prep School:
Mon: 12:30 - 1:00
Thurs: 10:00 - 10:20
Senior School:
Mon: 10:20 - 10:40
Thurs: 1:00 - 1:35
Finally, I am really looking forward to seeing the results of all those who took part in the sunflower growing competition which we launched during May’s Mental Health Awareness Week. To allow for the fact that sunflowers bloom from mid summer to early Autumn, the competition will stay open until Friday the 24th of September and I will announce the winner on Monday the 27th. Please send images and measurements to me at mdouglas@dokschool.org.
Currently, I have only seen Mrs Knox’s fantastic flowers growing on the school roof - I’m looking forward to seeing both staff and pupil’s results!
Mrs Douglas
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A Message from the School Nurses
A very warm welcome to the new school year from the School Nurses, Chloe Sarjant and Maya Garside. It's been lovely catching up with returning pupils this week, and beginning to get to know some of our many new starters.
Covid-19 continues to be a hot topic I'm afraid. Please always adhere to Government guidelines. Anyone with symptoms (cough, fever, loss/change of smell or taste) should isolate and book a PCR test. Close contacts of positive cases who are either under the age of 18 or have been "double jabbed" will no longer need to self-isolate, but will be strongly encouraged to also get a PCR test.
Please do keep Lead School Nurse Chloe Sarjant up to speed with any Covid-related developments in your family as the term progresses, at csarjant@dokschool.org.
As with last year, staff, pupils and parents alike are encouraged to do their part in reducing the risk of transmission of Covid and other winter bugs at Duke of Kent School. Hand and respiratory hygiene and good ventilation are all key. Meanwhile, staff and Senior School pupils are strongly encouraged to perform twice weekly (Wednesday, Sunday) asymptomatic home lateral flow tests. The results must always be uploaded (even if the result is negative) at https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result so that we can closely monitor engagement in this essential protective measure. A huge thank you to the Senior School pupils for a great start to the year by taking part in our mass home test on Monday 6th September - please keep up the good work, as it really helps to reassure those community members who are more vulnerable to this persistent virus.
Finally, any health/medical/first aid issues throughout the school term, please email nurse@dokschool.org so that both Chloe and Maya are in the loop as to what help is needed. Thank you!
Enjoy a restful weekend everyone,
The School Nurses
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PADoK News
PADoK would like to extend a warm welcome to all the new families that have joined the school this term.
Our first meeting is on Monday 13th September. If you would be interested in attending then please contact your class rep for details. Following this meeting, we will update you on what to look forward to over the coming term.
PADoK Walk
Our walks will be every other week and the next one is on Friday 24th September at 08.30am, Hurtwood Car Park 3, PItch Hill. All welcome.
PADOK Book Club
We are very much looking forward to the next PADoK Book Club that will be taking place at 8pm on Thursday, 7th October and we are delighted to say we will be meeting in person once again in the main hall at Duke of Kent. We will be sharing our thoughts on Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell – a book that won various awards including WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION and FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR - BRITISH BOOK AWARDS. It is a heart-stopping story behind Shakespeare's most famous play and tells of the bond between twins and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. As well as our regular members, we would love for new parents to join us for a relaxed discussion and social evening.
Mrs Phillips
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New Optional Senior School Hoodie
The Senior School hoodies have been 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.
Miss Vernon
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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).
Our Twitter and Facebook accounts are public however, our Instagram account is private to keep it strictly for the Duke of Kent School community only. To follow the School Instagram account you will need to request to follow the account.
We recommend following all three accounts to receive push notifications with news, updates, educational articles, interactions with other schools, communities and public figures.
  
Miss Vernon
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Year 11 pupils have been learning and practising some top tips on how to analyse an 'unseen' poem in English Literature this morning #TheDoKWay #English #EnglishLiterature #GCSE #Year11 #SeniorSchool #SurreySchools @isaschools https://t.co/PuHxoEHpXE1 day ago Follow Congratulations and good luck to Tiago G-W who left @DoKSchool at the end of last year to join @lasalleacadri in Rhode Island to further his sporting career in Ice Hockey. He has also signed for a local hockey team, The New England Knights. We wish him the best of luck! https://t.co/lUb8eRreAj2 days ago Follow |
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