Prep for the Week - Summer week 4

Prep for the Week Issue Number 1891 – 11 May 2018

In this week’s issue…

Headmaster's Blog Kingfishers Update Lower School News Meet Mr Theedom Year 5 Trip Sports Update Birthday Announcements

k! e e w t rea g a t a Wh ns i w t n a rilli b , s p i r d n Fun t a d l e i sf t r o p s of on the e r o m to s ' e r e ext more. H n e h t er v o e m the sa .. . s y a d seven Follow us on Twitter: @CheltPrep

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1891 11 May 2018

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Headmaster's Blog

Dear Parents It was my great pleasure to welcome Mr Tom O’Sullivan, Head Designate, to two relaxed, informal and enjoyable evenings when he was presented to as many parents as possible.

Although Mr O’Sullivan has his duties and responsibilities to his present school, we are very grateful that he has been able to join us on several occasions in order to smooth the handover process. What is not apparent to parents is the amount of time which is being spent “behind the scenes” on matters to do with continuity. This is at all levels from discussions with governors to ensuring that he has as much knowledge as is practical about our school community and its routines and personalities. Wherever possible, we will continue in this vein, involving Mr O’Sullivan at appropriate points in all discussions appertaining to the next academic year.

My visit to the Boarding Schools Conference last week was successful in that I returned with knowledge of a growing trend in teaching which represents a complete ‘about face’ from recent years.

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1891 11 May 2018

Not so long ago, if a prep school child was presented with the task of completing ‘a project’, the usual response was that this was an abdication of responsibility by the teacher who should continue to be the focus of all that the child does. Fuelled by the universities’ revived interest in the ability of sixth formers to complete the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), designed to focus on the efforts of the young student and to complement teacher led A Levels, the preparatory school sector is now being encouraged to replicate this, especially in Years 7 and 8. As I said last week, conference is mainly about snippets of information and ideas ‘borrowed’ from other schools!

Once again, the time is upon us when tutors and Heads of Section will begin to form the classes for next year. This can be a fraught time but is an essential aspect of the education of the ‘whole child’. The ability to adapt to change in both surroundings and people is crucial and this process, which we handle as sensitively as possible, will be completed in the next few weeks.

Jon Whybrow Headmaster

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Kingfishers Update Key Stage One Maypole Dancing Key Stage One enjoyed the chance to skip the afternoon away to some May Day music during Maypole dancing. They learnt a simple routine which twisted and braided the coloured ropes around the Maypole. A lovely way to end an afternoon.

Healthy Plate Picnic Year 2 have been learning all about healthy eating and the food groups. They designed their own healthy plate picnic based on the five food groups: Fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, dairy and fats. They enjoyed making their own sandwiches and choosing healthy snacks alongside one treat!

They all agreed it was “really exciting� and thoroughly enjoyed eating it afterwards!

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Lower School News Corinium Museum Trip When you visit a museum with children, they often go through it at the speed of light and you wonder what they have picked up, though they often surprise you with bizarre facts. At the Corinium Museum, the Year 3s were able to explore in depth and make links between the Romans in Cirencester and their own Art, English and History subjects back at school. They learnt what the Anglo-Romanos ate, wore and played, how they decorated their homes and gardens and how they lived and died. Taking this information back into the classroom, they will be able to apply their new found knowledge into their creative writing based on The Thieves of Ostia and in their mosaic art work, where they are using foam tesserae to create their own images. This is such an interesting museum and Year 3 hope you take time to visit it, if you haven’t done so already.

Drama Club The Summer Term in Lower School is one of expression and joy. So what could be better than starting up our Drama Club?

Twenty of our finest young actors have joined and have begun exploring different emotions and themes, particularly focusing on “power.” We have looked at body language, movement, and exploring the full ranges of our voices before analysing performances.

To contextualise our studies, we have been looking at powerful speeches in film and practising these together before performing. Gladiator, Troy, Braveheart and A Few Good Men to name just a few!

Drama is vitally important for children to practise the skills that enable them to become conscientious and empathetic adults. It gives them confidence with public speaking and performance, and gives opportunities for the Year 4s to mentor and guide the Year 3s in collaborative tasks. But most of all, it’s great fun!

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Year 5 visit Hayden Education Centre To support their Geography ‘water’ topic, Year 5 pupils spent a morning at Hayden Sewage Treatment Works, Cheltenham, which has been in existence since the 1890s.

Pupils were given a lively presentation in the ‘water classroom’ where they learned about the importance of water to our planet and how important it is not to waste clean water. Each child that went left the experience with tips on how to save water in their homes.

Following an explanation of the water cleaning process, and fully adorned in hard hats, high-viz jackets and fetching blue gloves, pupils were taken on a rather ‘perfumed’ walk around part of the sewage cleaning plant. They particularly impressed the Severn Trent Education staff with their interest and knowledge during their visit.

Please support your children in their efforts to help save water both in their homes and the wider community.

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Meet the Teachers Job Title - Year 4 Class Teacher Favourite thing about teaching -Meeting so many different children and parents and being able to play a part in their early education development.

I also love the fact that every day is different and every hour of the day is different, jumping from one subject to another.

As part of the feedback survey that we sent out last term, one point that came up was parents' desires to know the teachers more. In response we will now be running a 'getting to know you' feature with a different teacher each week!

First up is Mr Theedom...

Favourite thing about The Prep - The sense of community, which struck me from the very start, and for me begins with the staff and extends to the families.

Favourite food - I love food! Probably tapas, followed by roasted goat.

Ideal holiday destination - Travelling through Western Africa Favourite book - Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo Favourite film or TV show - The Power of One Favourite subject at school - English writing and Science Favourite sport - Cricket Least favourite subject at school - RS (Sorry Mr Patterson!)

Things you love to do - I used to spend the whole of my holiday time travelling and am lucky enough to have visited many countries in the world. This is on hold at the moment with our 2 ½ year old, William and another child on the way in October, so I really enjoy family time during the holidays now.

If you weren't a teacher, you would be... a travel writer

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Sport Update Rounders Team of the week U11B Middle School are in a tricky position in this transitional year, trying to prepare for and compete in three different sports. As a result, they have only had three Rounders sessions so far this term. That makes the U11B win over RGS The Grange even more impressive. The girls played like they had been playing together in those positions for ages and everything gelled together nicely. The fielding in particular was a joy to watch with excellent bowling, consistently accurate throws from the back stop and great linking between the deeps and the post players. Well done girls!

Girls' Tennis Results Upper School A vs St Hugh's 6-9 Upper School B vs St Hugh's 8-5 Upper School C vs St Hugh's 11 - 3 Upper School D vs St Hugh's 6-0 Upper School E vs St Hugh's 12 - 3

Rounders Results U11A vs RGS The Grange 7 - 11 U11B vs RGS The Grange 14 - 11 U10A vs RGS The Grange 13 - 14 U10B vs RGS The Grange 16.5 - 20.5 U10/U11C vs RGS The Grange 13.5 - 25.5

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Sport Update Boys' Cricket Team of the Week - 2nd XI

Boys' Cricket Results 1st XI vs Marling School Draw 1st XI vs Monmouth School Won by 5 wickets

Monmouth 115-8 Prep 2nd XI 116-3

2nd XI vs Monmouth School Won by 7 wickets

Prep 2nd XI won by 7 wickets

3rd XI vs Monmouth School Lost by 15 runs

On Wednesday, the 2nd XI travelled to play a strong Monmouth outfit on an overcast afternoon in Wales. We won the toss and elected to field, hoping to enjoy a run chase on what was a dry, hard wicket. The team bowled and fielded extremely well strangling the Monmouth run rate until the last few over where their batsmen cut loose. However, we were happy to chase a target of 115 off 25 overs and set about doing so with confidence.

Our run rate remained similar to our opponents for a while until the middle order batsmen began hitting hard and Monmouth were soon overwhelmed by our fire power. We ended up comfortable winners in the end and now look forward to our next test against Clifton on Saturday.

4th XI vs Monmouth School Lost by 8 wickets

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1891 11 May 2018

5th XI vs Monmouth School Lost by 9 wickets U11A vs RGS The Grange Won by 6 runs U10A vs RGS The Grange Won by 1 run Colts C vs RGS The Grange Won by 2 wickets Colts D vs RGS The Grange Lost by 15 runs U9A vs The Downs Wraxall Lost by 9 runs U9B vs The Downs Wraxall Won by 73 runs U9C vs The Downs Wraxall Won by 74 runs

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Notices BIRTHDAYS Happy birthday to the following pupils who have their birthdays this week: Jean-Christian Lucas (8) Tabitha Thomson (10) Eden Ramnarine (5) Molly Ropner (12) Oliver Brewis (11) Poppy Charlesworth (6)

Co-Ed Swimming Congratulations to three of our pupils – Aidan Portch (Y8), Jude Richardson and Olivia Greenwood (Y7) – who have qualified for the National IAPS Swimming Finals. 12 Prep pupils competed in the Regionals back in February and after three months of 32 Regional events, the results were all collated and we found out the finalists. The top 20 swimmers in each category across the country qualify for the Nationals, and given that in some events there were upwards of 150 entrants, this is no mean feat. Aidan qualified in 25m Butterfly, Jude in 50m Back Stroke and Olivia in 50m Freestyle. They will travel down to London on Saturday 10 June to compete in the London Aquatic Centre – the pool used for the 2012 Olympic Games. It is a very exciting opportunity for these pupils and an outstanding achievement. We wish them the best of luck!

Congratulations to Matilda Barter who picked up a silver medal in Monday's Brewer Games at the Prince of Wales Stadium. Matilda competed in the Quad Kids competition, finishing 3rd in the 75m and Long Jump, joint 5th in the 600m and winning the Vortex, resulting in a second placed finish overall. Well done Matilda!

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Notices

Friends of The Prep invite you to join in the fun at the...

PARENTS’ CRICKET AND TENNIS TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY 10 JUNE If you would like to enter the Doubles Tennis tournament, please contact Lucy Hill on lucy24bennerley@yahoo.co.uk Don’t worry, you don’t need to have a doubles partner - this is a friendly tournament where partners swap after each match!

If you are a cricketer and wish to participate, please contact Tim Buttress on tim.buttress@hotmail.com A delicious match tea will be served at 15.30.

Thank you and we really hope you can come, the event will be a lot of fun!

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Notices

Invites you to drinks at

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS on

Thursday 21st June 7.30pm - 10.30pm To Book Card Payments: 01242 265694 Online Booking: cheltoniansociety.org Cheques Payable to: Cheltenham College Post to: Rebecca Creed, Society Manager Cheltenham College Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire, GL53 7LD r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org

Price: £40pp Includes: Welcome drink & canapés Cash Bar

Subject to demand, a return coach from Cheltenham will be available at £10pp.

Invites you to

THROUGHAM COURT GARDEN on

Thursday 5th July 2018 Througham Court, Througham, Gloucestershire, GL6 7HG To Book Card Payments: 01242 265694 Online Booking: cheltoniansociety.org Cheques Payable to: Cheltenham College Post to: Rebecca Creed, Society Manager Cheltenham College Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire, GL53 7LD r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org

2.30pm - 5.00pm Price: £30pp Programme 2.30pm Garden Tour with Dr Christine Facer 4.00pm Tea in The Garden Room

Invites you to

THE BREWIN DOLPHIN CHELTENHAM CRICKET FESTIVAL Gloucestershire v Durham The Specsavers County Championship Game on

Sunday 22nd July 2018

To Book Card Payments: 01242 265694 Online Booking: cheltoniansociety.org Cheques Payable to: Cheltenham College Post to: Rebecca Creed, Society Manager Cheltenham College Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire, GL53 7LD Prep for The Week Issue Number 1891 11 May 2018 r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org

Price: £60pp or £50 for under 16s Programme 10.30am - 6.00pm Cash Bar Open 11.00am Play Starts 12 noon Welcome Drink 1.00pm (approx) Buffet Luncheon 3.40pm (approx) Afternoon Tea 11