Prep for the Week - Summer week 10

Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1929 – 28 June 2019

That was the week that was...

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

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Prep for the Week

Issue Number 1929 – 28 June 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 • French and Spanish Trips • Summer Reading Challenge • Sports News • Scooby Awards Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

And finally...

Don’t miss Mr O’Sullivan’s take on this week. His Week 10 blog can be found at the back of this week’s edition.

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Kingfishers Update Kingfishers Prize Giving It was a pleasure to celebrate all of our Kingfishers boys and girls at our Prize Giving Ceremony this week. Everyone received their Head’s Commendation for their special efforts and successes this year and it was a time for our teachers to sit back and enjoy reflecting on the special children in their care. The Kingfishers showed just how grown up they were by clapping their friends and shaking hands and saying thank you to Mr O’Sullivan as they received their book prize. They were rewarded with a special ice cream treat afterwards as a ‘Well done’. What a fantastic year Kingfishers!

Kingfishers Sports Day The sun was shining for the Kingfishers Sports Day. The children showed wonderful sportsmanship and enthusiasm to complete the challenges of each race. Well done Kingfishers!

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

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Kingfishers Update Reception Topic Landing Day The children enjoyed the topic landing day of ‘Down by the Pier’. They planned what they would put in their suitcase for a sunny holiday and then built sandcastles to match the designs they had drawn.

Look how much we’ve grown!

Buzzy Bees Year 1 have gone bumble bee mad this week! We have made sugar paste bees to decorate our rice cake ‘honeycomb’ and iced our very delicious bee cookies!

Year 1 Party Year 1 had a great End of Year party. Delicious party food and madcap games including, the chocolate game, the Crisp Thief and Wink Murder! Lots of giggles and enjoyment was had by all!

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

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Lower School News As we draw to a close this term we look back on the wonderful activities from the last week.

It is great that everyone is still buzzing and throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the activities this week.

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!

Year 3 became naturalists as they studied plants and wildlife at Pilley Bridge. What a lot they found to talk about and observe. They all competed widely in our ‘Matchbox Challenge’, the winners Lula and Dora managing to squeeze in a massive 66 different items!

Continuing the outdoor theme, Cattle Country provided great fun, bouncy pillows and terrifyingly high slides interspersed with visiting farm animals, animal petting, pig racing, playing around the fort and flying down the zip wire.

Thank you to all of the pupils and parents of Lower School for their input into making our community such a special place. It has been a great privilege to teach these happy, smiling and enthusiastic children who bring their curiosity and enthusiasm into the classroom. I will miss them all greatly but know that they are all set for bright and busy futures.

Mrs Grieves

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Lower School News Year 4 Trip to Bushcraft Year 4 pupils enjoyed an incredible three days in the woods of the Cornbury Estate as part of their annual Bushcraft residential. The pupils took part in a huge array of activities, including; lake swimming, woodland games, woodfire pizza making, shelter building, fire lighting and a whole lot more. This has become a highlight in the Lower School calendar and this year was just as amazing as expected.

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Boarding House Update Boarders’ Family BBQ It was great to see so many people at our Boarders’ Family BBQ on Sunday. We were really lucky with the weather and had a fantastic time. Thanks to all the Boarders for their help running the event and to families and staff for attending. We finished off the day with the epic battle that was the Boarders’ Water Fight. What a brilliant last weekend in the Boarding House, we wish everyone a happy holiday!

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Karting Champions The F24 racing team had their first taste of track racing last weekend and what an amazing opportunity it was! We had an early start, but with team work and a bacon roll we were off to get the kart scrutineered, at which, the kart passed with flying colours.

After that everyone had a practice lap to get used to the kart and the track, all 1.85 miles of it! With this being our first event, we had much to learn and Mr Boyd was hoping that both the kart and children to completed the two 90 minute races in one piece. Being new to the scene the team started near the back of the grid with 55 other teams in the race. In both races, the children climbed their way up the leaderboard and excelled at pit stops time and time again.

As other karts slowed towards the end of the races, with their batteries showing signs of fatigue, our kart maintained a good pace and finished 29th and 33rd in their races, doing better than we could have hoped for in our first outing. Not only that, but we came away with the award for the ‘Best Newcomer’ team.

I could not be prouder of what we achieved and we all have got so much from the experience. We now have a long list of areas to develop moving forward, planning for bigger and better accomplishments nationally!

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Normandy Trip We were very lucky this year to leave at a civilized 9.30 am.

The five-hour ferry crossing went very well. The weather was fine and the sea extremely calm, what a relief!

We were welcomed at the château by an ‘animatrice’ called Laure who gave us a nice hot chocolate with a madeleine before taking us to the dorms.

On the Wednesday, after a substantial French breakfast of cereal, pain au chocolat and fresh bread with butter and jam we had a tour of the Château. There, we spent the day orienteering and fencing, both of which were greatly enjoyed.

Thursday morning was spent in Dinan market and the children were given some Euros to buy themselves their picnic lunch.

All in French of course! In the afternoon, we visited the iconic Mont St Michel and had a little time to do some more shopping. It was interesting to see what the children came back with - watches and sunglasses mainly! We returned to the château de la Baudonnière for our evening meal and for the talent show. Lucille sang like an angel in front of five other schools and won the third prize. We were all so proud of her.

On Friday the children resumed the activities at the château and had a lot of fun doing the obstacle course, aéroballe, photogramme and even cider tasting. We ended the evening with a barbecue and a glass of champomy in the glazing Normandy sunshine.

It was a very successful trip, enjoyed by pupils and teachers alike.

A pupil’s account...

The Year 7 French trip to Normandy was really fun and a great opportunity to try activities we don’t normally do and eat French cuisine.

We learned fencing, orienteering, got soaked on the assault course and visited Le Mont Saint Michel. All the activities were run in French but the animateurs made it really easy to understand.

The assault course was really fun and wet. In the evenings, after dinner we did smaller activities such as French fancy dress, a talent show and a treasure hunt. We did photogrammes as well but my favourite was aeroballé. This is basically shooting at baskets while jumping on a trampoline in teams of two.

Most of us tried eating snails as well. I thought they were good because they only tasted like the garlicky sauce that they had been cooked in.

Overall, the trip was a great opportunity, especially after exams and I’m really glad I got to go.

-Taylor S, Year 7

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Salamanca Trip

A pupil’s diary from his trip...

Day 1 We started with Spanish lessons in the morning where we practiced phrases we would need on the rest of the trip.

We then all had a tour after lunch, seeing buildings like: the House of Shells, University of Salamanca and the Museum of Salamanca. That night we had tapas in three different restaurants for dinner!

Day 2 After Spanish lessons in the morning, we did salsa dancing, learning the dance to music and doing freestyle dancing at the end. It was great fun. We then did Cooking making tortilla and a cinnamon juice sangria which we all loved. We then had Paella for dinner which is even nicer in Spain than at home!

Day 3 After our last Spanish lessons in the morning, we had a really nice lunch at the hotel. We then spent all afternoon near the cold, refreshing pool whilst having ice creams. I then had another Paella for dinner again because I liked it so much!

Day 4 We had our last morning in Salamanca without lessons but getting chocolate churros instead in the square. When we had finished we did the last bit of shopping in the square before heading home. I really enjoyed my time in Spain and can’t wait to go back one day!

by Freddie Y, Year 7

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2019 - Our Year of Reading Congratulations to Almo P who has achieved his AR Bronze Award Certificate with over 250 points on his book quizzes!

Caught You Reading Winner

Flo W See you never clean earth!

A poem by Mia E, Year 7

See, you never clean earth They say, all good things must end.

The world is gone Darkness descends See, you never clean earth The air plagues my heart As I clasp my hands and weep I’ll stand by you into the future See you never clean earth.

They say, memories fade by life’s constant deaths Don’t pray for me, I am not who you thought For what I have done to you is not what can be fixed.

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

See you never clean earth For what was once is never again, I can never love you, the way I used to I would have had you through time, but I broke you I would have followed you through time, but we broke you.

See you never clean earth For this is the end

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The halfway point of our 2019 Year of Reading seems a good time to celebrate the culture of books here at the Prep and to reflect on the myriad successes of Accelerated Reader this year. Since September, pupils in Years 5, 6 & 7 have now collectively read over

100 million words and successfully passed over 2,800 book quizzes between them. Our ‘Millionaires Club’ is expanding all the time, with 17 pupils who have individually reached in excess of a million words in Accelerated Reader books since September. We now have five Double Word Millionaires, four Triple Word Millionaires, and now two Quadruple Word Millionaires!

As part of the celebration of our 2019 Year of Reading, we also

introduced Bronze, Silver and Gold Reading Awards for our highest achieving readers this year, and I am delighted to report that

now seven of our pupils have received Bronze Awards for attaining 250 points on Accelerated Reader quizzes. However, we now also have two Silver Award winners, who have each surpassed 500 AR points this year. The race is now on to see who will be the first ever

Gold Award Winner once the new school year commences in September.

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The contest to see which House is meeting the most reading targets has continued throughout the year, with the lead changing hands several times. However, the winners of this year’s House Reading Competition is Persia House closely followed by Sparta with Athens House in third place.

It has been an incredibly successful year for our Accelerated Reader programme across all three year groups, ably supported by the efforts of our Librarian, Miss Richardson, and the English department in engaging our young readers. We are delighted to announce that from September we will be expanding the programme to include all pupils from Years 3 – 8. There will be an Information Evening on Thursday 12th September for parents in all six of these year groups who would like to find out more about the Accelerated Reader programme. You can also learn more about Renaissance Learning by visiting their website at http://www.renlearn.co.uk/accelerated-reader/ We would also like to thank all those parents who continue to encourage their children at home with their reading; the strengths of Accelerated Reader very much depend on a successful partnership between the school and home.

The Summer Holiday Reading Challenge To maintain this excellent progress with reading over the summer, we are encouraging all our pupils to continue to read as much as possible in their spare time, and for this to be recorded in their Reading Record booklets, which all pupils have been given. Pupils will then be given the opportunity to take a book quiz on any Accelerated Reader books which they have read over the holiday when they return to school in September.

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How Can Parents Help?

1. Firstly, do please continue to support your children with their reading whenever possible: the more they read, the better! If you’re ever in need of ideas for excellent books to borrow or buy, we really recommend https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk – it has some fantastic suggestions for books which are split into different age categories and genres. You may also find the Accelerated Reader Bookfinder website useful when searching for books for your children: http://www.arbookfind.co.uk The website offers an Advanced Search option which allows you to refine your search in detail.

2. Secondly, please do ask to see your children’s Reading Record on a regular basis. Talk to them about the reading, and even better, read with them, or allow them to read aloud to you or other members of the family.

3. Lastly, please sign your children’s Reading Record during the holidays and before pupils return for the new academic year.

With thanks for your continued support of reading.

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Sports News Team of the Week - The U11A Boys’ Cricket On Thursday afternoon a team of eight U11s headed to the Victoria Ground for the Cheltenham District Cricket Competition, an event that has been running since 1956 and involved a number of eight over matches. Our team hit the ground running with a strong win in the quarter finals, backed that up with another in the semi finals and then beat Richard Pate by 95 runs in the final. What was lovely was that this was not about individuals, but that every member of the eight took wickets, hit boundaries and fielded superbly. A great way to round off an excellent season for that group of boys.

Equestrian Excellence

Boys’ Cricket Results 1st XI vs Cheltenham District Lost by 6 wickets 1st XI vs The Downs School Won by 77 runs 2nd XI vs The Downs School Won by 3 wickets 3rd XI vs The Downs School Won by 8 wickets U11A vs Cheltenham District Won by 1 run U11A vs The Downs School Won by 112 runs U10A vs The Downs School Won by 87 runs

Girls’ Cricket Results U13A vs Charlton Kings CC Lost by 62 runs U13B vs Cheltenham CC Won by 18 runs U11A vs Charlton Kings CC Won by 24 runs U11B vs Cheltenham CC Won by 17 runs U11C vs Cheltenham CC Won by 22 runs U13A vs The Downs School Won by 28 runs U11A vs The Downs School Lost by 2 runs U10A vs The Downs School Won by 14 runs

Congratulations to Sofia G who has been selected to represent England and the South West at the forthcoming British Dressage Youth Home International Championship, one of the major competitions in the British Dressage calendar.

The Home International is an annual competition, contested by teams from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Sofia has been chosen at Elementary level, which includes some of the higher level dressage movements.

This is a fantastic achievement, well done Sofia and good luck this summer!

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Sport News

Sports Day After the cancellation of the first running of Sports Day, we went with an altered version and had a great afternoon in the sun. Every child took part in at least one field event and two track events, all winning points for their Houses.

Due to a combination of the children struggling in the heat and some overrunning of timings we were unable to get through the relays, but are happy that every child had made a solid contribution to the event and in particular to their House.

Special recognition must go to these pupils, all of whom won at least three events on the day: Daphne G, Ed C, Herbie E, Isla-Rose E, Lily E, Max C-H, Robyn B, Sky J, Theo A and Matilda B

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

House Results 1st - Rome 2nd - Corinth 3rd - Troy 4th - Persia 5th - Sparta 6th - Athens

School Records Broken Year 6 Girls’ 50m Hurdles Maddie A Year 5 Boys’ 75m Lawrence Y Year 4 Boys’ Vortex Morgan D Year 4 Long Jump Theo A Year 6 Girls’ 300m Tilda B Year 6 Girls’ 1500m Tilda B Year 8 Girls’ Discus Izzy A-S Year 8 Girls’ Hurdles Sky J Year 8 Girls’ 300m Eva C Year 5 Girls’ Vortex Trinny N Year 6 Boys’ Shot Daniel R Year 6 Girls’ Long Jump Tilda B Year 6 Girls’ High Jump Lois J

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In other news Congratulations to the following pupils who have earned a Scooby Award: 25 pluses - Victoria H and Thomas S 50 pluses - Georgia B 75 pluses - Ava B and Noah H

Happy birthday to all of our pupils who have their birthday over the Summer Holiday. Look out for a special feature on your return in September!

Maths Challenge Well done to the Year 8 pupils who visited Year 4 pupils at St John’s Primary School to help with their maths and reading skills as part of our post Common Entrance programme work.

You were great Ambassadors for The Prep!

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And finally...

Dear Parents It is impossible not to have been blown away by the children over the last few, incredibly busy, weeks.

It is not so much their ability and their talents that I want to highlight, impressive as they undoubtedly are, it’s the extraordinary way in which they support each other and show empathy in modern parlance.

To be at the House Music Competition or the Aquathlon over the last couple of days you would have seen children trying their absolute best to win, but then cheering on the other houses, and runners, with more enthusiasm than a Jürgen Klopp press conference! It says a great deal about them that they can enjoy each other’s successes, without feeling threatened, and support their peers through the tougher times. If someone asks you what The Prep is like - tell them about this.

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

As my first year as part of The Prep team draws to an end, I wanted to say a huge thank you to you all, and to the wider Prep community, for welcoming me so readily into your school.

I can honestly say I have loved every moment and I look forward to sharing with you all a great day of celebration tomorrow.

Sun hats and water bottles at the ready.

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JOIN THE FUN CALL OR GO ONLINE FOR DATES & BOOKING

01242 705 551 22nd July 2019 - 23rd August 2019

AT CHELTENHAM COLLEGE SPORTS CENTRE

Summer Camp

Over 20 exciting games and sports, including arts, crafts and swimming for boys and girls aged 4½ - 14 years CHILDCARE VOUCHERS ACCEPTED

SWIM CRASH FROM COURSE

STAGES 1-4 BRONZE, SILVER, GOLD

£50

30 minute lessons - Small Groups NEW! ROOKIE LIFESAVING

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In partnership with

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We are looking for coaches this Summer, apply now through our ‘work for us page’ www.cheltenhamactivitycamps.co.uk

01242 705 551 CAC050 Summer Camp Flyer V2.indd 1

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

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NEW! Hockey Camps for 2019

SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

Set in the Cheltenham College Sports Centre and run by outstanding, highly qualified and experienced staff, Cheltenham Activity Camps provide a fun filled environment for children to develop their interest, understanding and enjoyment of a huge variety of games and sports including arts and crafts. The children that attend our camps are central to everything that we do, each child will take part in at least 6 activities a day (including swimming everyday if we can) - that’s over 30 if they come for a full week. All staff are fully reference and DBS checked.

We know how important it is to ensure that you feel secure in leaving your child in our care. It can be daunting for new children we ensure that everyone is made to feel welcome and part of our team

SOME OF OUR ACTIVITIES: Quizzes, Dance, Tag Rugby, Danish Longball, Obstacle Courses, Tri-Golf, Rounders, Team Building, Football, Face-Painting, Ultimate Frisbie, Team Challenges, Treasure Hunt, Benchball, New-Age Kurling, Swimming, Fancy Dress, Mini Olympics, Hockey, Netball, Laser-Shooting, Tennis, And much more….

EARLY BIRD PRICES 1 Morning only – £18.50 1 day standard – £35.00 1 day extended – £40.00 3 Days Extended – £111.00 5 days extended – £170.00

East Gloucestershire Tennis & Hockey Club UPPER REEVES LOWER REEVES

How to find us E IN TA ES IRL TH

Cheltenham College Sports Centre Off Thirlestaine Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7AA

Entrance Only

AD RO

REFER A FRIEND AND G E T A WHOLE DAY FREE!

CHELTENHAM COLLEGE SPORTS CENTRE

Exit Only

CHRISTOWE (XT) GATE

01242 705551 • cheltenhamactivitycamps@cheltenhamcollege.org www.cheltenhamactivitycamps.co.uk CAC050 Summer Camp Flyer V2.indd 2

Prep for The Week Issue Number 1929 28 June 2019

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