Prep for the Week - Spring Week 11

Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1919 – 22 March 2019

That was the week that was...

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1919 22 March 2019

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Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1919 – 2 March 2019

Cheltenham Prep has joined the world of Instagram! Make sure you are following us (instagram.com/cheltprep) to keep up to date with all of the fun things going on...

Included in this week’s issue…

• Kingfishers Update • Lower School News • Boarding House Update • Sports Update • Birthday Announcements • Scooby Awards • Updated Week 12 Calendar Prep for The Week Issue Number 1919 22 March 2019

And finally...

Don’t miss Mr O’Sullivan’s take on this week. His Week 11 blog can be found at the back of this week’s edition.

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Kingfishers Update Witches, Wizards, Elves and Fairies The Nursery children have been concocting some crazy and messy magic spells. We have turned people into frogs, butterflies, princesses and wizards.

We made a sunshine spell and Miss Parry became a fairy for a day. What a week!

Keep up to date Make sure you’re following Kingfishers on twitter (@CheltKingfisher) to keep up to date with all of the latest activities we’re getting up to!

Reception Wands Reception have been writing fairy and wizard spells and made wands so they can cast their spells. Watch out if you see a fairy or wizard in school, they may be trying to turn you into a frog or even make you disappear!

Year 1 Assembly Our Year 1 children have thrown themselves into their topic this term and enjoyed sharing their new– found knowledge in their showcase Assembly. Well done Year 1 for an amazing royal performance!

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Easter Fun Time!

Come and join in the Easter fun in the Kingfishers Nursery: Monday 1 - Friday 5 April 10am - 4pm each day

Open

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There will be lots of fun activities to take part in and games to play with the Nursery staff To book your place email Mrs Davis via: r.davis@cheltenhamcollege.org

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Lower School News Year 4 Viking Day The Year 4 pupils took part in a fantastic Viking Day. The day reinforced and extended their knowledge of this period of time when the Vikings invaded and settled in Britain. It was a great opportunity to complete lots of Design Technology work, team work and much more.

Keep up to date Make sure you’re following Lower School on twitter (@CheltPrepLower) to keep up to date with all of the latest activities we’re getting up to!

The day started with an inter-class Viking Quest with each class working through an interactive game to invade Britain and return with the most loot, religious artefacts and slaves. The pupils worked together to choose their crew, the boat, the route and their actions when arriving in Britain.

For the rest of the morning the classes worked together to make a huge Viking village, consisting of huts, town halls, rivers, Viking Longboats and Viking Warriors. We would love for you to visit upstairs in Lower School to have a look.

The fun continued in the afternoon as each class completed three further activities. They learnt about how to build a Viking Longship, how to replicate Viking brooches and made some very impressive Viking shields.

French Catwalk This week Year 4 planned a fashion show in view of the new 2019 spring collection.

They walked up and down the catwalk to their favourite music, just like professional models. They were able to introduce themselves and present what they were wearing all in French, bien sûr!

Félicitations et bravo!

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Boarding House Update On Sunday the Year 8 Boarders took part in the first Boarder’s Superteams event which we hosted on site.

There were four mixed teams from local Boarding Schools competing across three sports (hockey, football and ultimate frisbee). Our Prep team put in strong performances across the board and ended up as joint winners with the Dean Close team. We hope this will the the first of many events with other local Boarding Houses.

The rest of the Boarding House headed to Birdland for a relaxed afternoon meeting penguins, flamingoes and holding chicks, as well as digging up dinosaur bones!

Thanks to all the staff that helped with these two events over the weekend, you are much appreciated by the Boarders.

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Royal Geographical Society Visit This week, as part of their enrichment programme, the Year 8 Scholars were visited by the Royal Geographical Society’s Student Ambassadors from the University of Gloucestershire. This is the second visit The Prep has had as part of the burgeoning partnership we have established with the University of Gloucestershire’s Geography Department.

Marni and Isabel are second year undergraduate students who chatted to the Scholars about the topics and work they do as part of their degrees, and how useful Geography is when studying various topics at senior school. The Scholars participated in several engaging discussions and activities and found out just how many jobs (including Prime Minister!) could be done with a Geography background!

Gloucestershire Young Photographer of The Year Thank you to those children who have submitted photographs for this competition. I have sent them off for judging. Remember to get a plus from me for entering and also add it to your Prep Award booklets.

Here is an extract of the information I received from the organisers: 1) Winners will be notified during April and the results published on the Club’s website www.cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk towards the end of that month.

2) The judges’ decision is final.

3) The winning entries, and any other photographs selected by the judges, will be exhibited at Cheltenham Camera Club’s Annual Exhibition at Chapel Arts, Knapp Lane, Cheltenham GL50 3QQ from 1 – 11 May, Wednesdays to Saturdays 10.00am to 4.00pm inclusive.

The prizes will be presented at the Awards Ceremony on Thursday 2 May at 6.30pm.

Good luck!

Mrs Parsley

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Da Vinci Challengers On Monday and Tuesday, Mr Newson and Miss Cox accompanied eight Year 7 students to the UK heats of the DaVinci Decathlon at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire. This is an international competition started in 2002 in Australia, and consists of a set of 10 academic challenges over the course of eight hours, ranging from STEM to Drama, Maths and Codebreaking.

There were seven teams from across the UK taking part and although our team were the youngest team by some way, competing against 15-16 year olds, they comfortably held their own against their counterparts from senior schools.

Particular highlights include scoring 64/65 in the Codebreaking Challenge (joint 2nd place), and winning special commendation for their haiku/English and STEM challenges.

The judges offered specific praise for how well our students performed during the results ceremony, given their age, and have already invited them back for next year’s heats!

We are very proud of the Year 7s achievements: they were a credit to themselves and The Prep, and we were impressed by the students’ ‘can do’ attitude when tackling the challenges!

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Sport Update Girls’ Team of the Week: U8 Netball The U8s have continued to put all their training into practice and after a hard fought match showcasing their skills, came away well deserved victors against local rivals Berkhampstead.

Girls’ Netball Results U10A vs RGS The Grange Worcester Won 11 - 2 U10B vs RGS The Grange Worcester Won 15 - 9 U11B vs RGS The Grange Worcester Won 9 - 7 U9A vs The Dragon Lost 4 - 7 U9B vs The Dragon Lost 2 - 10 U8 vs Berkhampstead Won 10 - 3 U13A reached the semi final of the Cheltenham & District Cup

Boys’ Football Results U11A vs Pinewood Lost 2 - 9 U11B vs Pinewood Drew 0 - 0 U11C vs Pinewood Lost 0 - 6 U10A vs Pinewood Lost 1 - 6 U10B vs Pinewood Lost 0 - 2 U10C vs Pinewood Won 1 - 0 U9A vs Pinewood Won 2 - 1 U9B vs Pinewood Lost 0 - 8

Boys’ Team of the Week 2nd VII Hockey This week saw us look to stretch and challenge our boys.

Whilst the 1st VII were engaged in regional tournaments, the 2nd VII stepped up to take their place against Pinewood 1st VII and recorded a superb 4 - 2 victory. The team played with real fluidity, taking their chances well and showed how far they have come this season.

Boys’ Hockey Results 2nd VII vs Pinewood 1st VII Won 4 - 2 3rd VII vs Pinewood 2nd VII Won 1 - 0 4th VII vs Pinewood 3rd VII Won 3 - 2 5th VII vs Pinewood 4th VII Won 2 - 1 6th VII vs Pinewood 5th VII Won 1 - 0 7th VII vs Pinewood 6th VII Won 2 - 1

Boys’ Rugby Results U13A at the Sibford 7s Quarter Finalists

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2019 - Our Year of Reading Caught You Reading Here at The Prep, we love to catch our pupils reading. All pupils have regular access to the Library, with the majority of pupils also having weekly Library lessons. Such is their love of reading, many of our pupils also love to read at breaktimes, lunchtimes and during other opportunities across the school day. For this reason, we introduced our Caught You Reading initiative last year. All staff carry Caught You Reading slips which they fill in and give to pupils when they catch them reading. These slips then go in the Caught You Reading box in the Library, and a prize is given to one lucky winner, drawn out weekly by Mr O’Sullivan. You have to be in it, to win it!

This week’s Caught You Reading Winner is...

Ben A

Reader of the Week Congratulations to this week’s Reader of the Week... Freddie A Prep for The Week Issue Number 1919 22 March 2019

Each week, staff in the English department, together with Miss Richardson, our Librarian, nominate one pupil who has made particular progress with, or shown genuine commitment to, their private reading.

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Scooby Awards Congratulations to the following pupils who have earned 25 pluses this term:

• Theo A • Max C H • Alfie C

• Toby E • Lily F • Daphne G

• Naomi H • Xanthe H • Thomas H-C

• Craig S

• Catherine W • Monty W

And well done to the following pupils who have already reached 50 pluses this term!

• Jacobo A • Robyn B • Annabelle B • Harry C • Ollie C

• Hannah D • Felix D • Noah H • James K • Zara L-H

• Olivia L • Jean-Christian L • Ellie M • Raif N • Isabella O

• Oscar P • Lily R • Jack S • Sofia S • Alice W

Congratulations to the following pupils who have now reached 75 pluses:

• Verity C • Emmiline C-H • Isla-Rose E

• Jack E • Mariia G • Gabriella L

• Nick N • Daniel R • Joanna R

• Alvin S • Doris W • Kevin Y

Well done to Freddie A and Isabel C who have done incredibly well to receive their 100th plus of the term!

Congratulations to Almo P who now has over 125 pluses so far this term, a fantastic achievement!

And finally, congratulations to Jerome Y who now has over 175 pluses so far this term, a fantastic achievement!

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Notices Happy birthday to the following pupils who have their birthdays this week:

• Juniper C (4) • Lucille K (12)

Wizard of Oz Reminder Tickets for Wednesday’s performance of The Wizard of Oz are now sold out! But don’t worry, you can still get your tickets for Thursday at 7.00pm in the Assembly Hall, by clicking here!

The funeral of Nicky Norwood will be taking place on Saturday, 30 March at 11.00am in College Chapel.

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And finally...

Dear Parents What an amazing week of Kingfisher assemblies.

The enthusiasm and confidence with which they have all presented has been a real joy to watch.

At the other end of the school we are all eagerly awaiting the production of The Wizard of Oz next week. It promises to be a fantastic finale to the term.

The children have been here there and everywhere this week with some Year 7s up at Ampleforth College taking part in an international Academic Decathlon where they performed exceptionally well despite being the youngest team by far. Some of the Year 6 girls were in Epsom playing in the National finals of the IAPS netball competition. This is a tremendous achievement and one which all the girls should be very proud of.

On the topic of girls’ sport, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Lucy McNulty as our new permanent Head of Girls’ Sport from September. Lucy joins us from Cheltenham Ladies College where she is Head of Hockey, a PE teacher, Tutor, Sports Mentor and many other things! She has played hockey for both England and Great Britain alongside organising primary school Olympiads and Prep School hockey tournaments!

In an exceptionally strong field, she stood out and her understanding of the balance needed between participation and performance was key. I have absolutely no doubt that every child in the school will benefit from her appointment.

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Lucy will visit The Prep on a number of occasions next term so you will all get the chance to meet her before September.

I would like to thank Mrs Simpson who is doing an outstanding job of holding the ‘girls’ sport fort’ this term and will continue in the role next term. I am very grateful for her efforts and commitment.

Prep Survey 2019 This week I sent out a Clarion containing a link to our new Parents’ Feedback survey. Thank you very much to all of you who have already filled out the survey.

The cumulative views of parents, pupils and staff will be used to help inform our planning for the future direction of The Prep. If you haven’t already done so, could I ask that you please try and find five minutes over the coming week to complete the survey. We will draw out one lucky respondent who will win a bottle of champagne and box of chocolates.

Good luck!

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Week 12 Calendar Week 12 25/3/19 - 31/3/19 Mon - 25/3/19 Week 12 (27) 25 - 31 March 08:30 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' - Rehearsal (Assembly Hall) 09:45 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' school performance for Years 1-4, St John's pupils and pupils from local primary schools (Assembly Hall) Tue - 26/3/19 West of England Hockey Finals (A): U11A. 08:30 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' - Rehearsal (Assembly Hall) 09:30 Nursery Mindfulness Open Morning 11:00 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' school performance for Years 5-8 (Assembly Hall) Wed - 27/3/19 Years 1 and 2 Topic Landing Day: A Royal Celebration 11:30 Departure for Hockey v Prior Park (A): U12A XI. Start 13:30.

Pick up 16:45 12:45 Departure for Hockey v Prior Park (A): U12B XI. Start 14:30.

Pick up 17:00 14:00 Upper School Summer Term Sport Pre-Season Training. Pick up 16:20 14:15 Hockey v Prior Park (H): U13A XI, U13B XI. Pick up 16:20 14:15 Middle School House Netball. Pick up 16:20 14:30 Hockey v King's Gloucester (H): U11A VII, U11B VII, U11C VII. Pick up 16:20 15:15 Hockey v Prior Park (H): U13C XI. Pick up 16:45 16:45 Staff v U13A Netball. Pick up 17:30 19:00 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' - Performance 1 (Assembly Hall)* Thu - 28/3/19 Nursery and Reception Topic Landing: The Land of Make Believe

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Week 12 Calendar ABRSM music examinations (Lake House) 16:20 Departure for National Rugby 7s at Rosslyn Park (A): 1st VII 17:00 13+ Art and D&T Scholars' Exhibition closes (Prep Art Room)* 19:00 Upper School Play: 'Wizard of Oz' - Performance 2 (Assembly Hall)* Fri - 29/3/19 10:45 Friends of The Prep Easter Egg Hunt 14:20 Passiontide Service for Years 1-8 (Chapel)* 15:30 Term ends for pupils in Kingfishers 16:00 Term ends for pupils in Lower School 16:20 Term ends for pupils in Middle and Upper School 18:00 Return from Rosslyn Park 7s (A): 1st VII

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Mr O’Sullivan invites you to join in the fun at the...

PARENTS’ CRICKET AND TENNIS TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY 9 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 Andrew Hill on hillybilly67@me.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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