As One Cumnor Newsletter Autumn Term 2023

CUMNOR NEWSLETTER

AUTUMN TERM 2023

Show in a Week

Kudos

Nativity Inside this edition

Nursery & Pre-Prep News

Festive Highlights

Kudos

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Welcome to As One ,

a termly celebration of our children’s achievements, and a spotlight on school life.

It is strange to think that at the start of this wonderful Autumn Term, we began school in a heat wave. Such, though, is the nature of a long first term at prep schools. Like the seasons, our new pupils quickly become part of the community, and grow in maturity and confidence before our eyes. The new initiatives that we brought into the school, especially our new Year 7 and 8 curriculum, Kudos, soon become embedded; and any ‘start of year nerves’ are replaced with confidence and excitement, and not just for Christmas!

Nursery & Pre-Prep

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s we near the end of term - rising to dark and frosty mornings - it’s easy to forget those sunny starts of early September. It really is a ‘game of two halves’ this term and all the better to allow a range of fabulous learning opportunities and wider experiences.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Mrs Freeman Head of Pre-Prep

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This term the Butterflies have enjoyed classic tales; built stick houses like the Three Little Pigs, tried porridge like Goldilocks and the Three bears and triptrapped over bridges like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. It has been an action-packed term with Harvest fun, swimming lessons and dancing with Mrs Ridley.

There are so many highlights to this term, some of which are captured in these pages.

As Headmaster, I have loved seeing the day to day endeavours of our staff and children, alongside the great moments of our musical, dramatic and sporting calendars, as well as our great community events, such as our Fireworks Night or our Christmas Fayre.

There remains an unerring positivity and purposefulness that no amount of November illness can deter. The children are happy, they feel valued and they are flourishing.

Wishing you all the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years!

Fergus Llewellyn Headmaster

Meanwhile, the Caterpillars have enjoyed discovering more of the school grounds including the Music Barn with Mrs B, whilst the Bees have settled into The Hive, enjoying much messy play, learning new action songs and making new friends.

Reception have really impressed everyone with how they have embraced school life this term; understanding routines, gaining independence and making lovely friendships.

We thoroughly enjoyed learning about our families, our homes and our environment, ending in a wonderful Teddy Bears picnic with all of our friends. We loved diving deep into stories this term, especially with ‘The Tiger who Came to Tea’ where we re-told the story, described the tiger and helped out the zoo by creating ‘Missing Tiger’ posters, all before going on a tiger hunt and finding real life clues that the tiger had been to Cumnor!

Back in the present day, Year 2 have been delving into the exciting world of Supertato! Working in small groups, they have planned, created and written their own Supertato based adventures.

Their main characters were given alliterative names such as ‘Boris Brocolli’ and ‘Carrie Carrot’ and adorned with cloaks and props. The children took on the role of author, illustrator, editor, book designer and, finally, reader.

Incredible, motivational and huge fun all rolled (sorry, mashed) into one. We finished this great learning by reading our finished books to the Nursery children!

We do like to ‘aim high’ and this can mean staying the course when the going gets tough. Building resilience and perseverance is something we actively discuss during our assemblies and something both Year 1 and Year 2 drew on throughout their topic work. As Victorians, Year 2 worked hard to master writing with ink pens and embroidery. Both requiring care, patience and a great deal of sticking power! In Year 1, meanwhile, the challenge of how to extinguish the Pudding Lane fire took armfuls of resilience - and teamwork - as our carefully created and constructed London landmark succumbed to flames. Bravely - we managed to sing our spirits up whilst the inferno was hosed. Exciting and unforgettable stuff!

December saw another triumphant Pre-Prep Nativity with ‘Late Again’. It was such a joy to see the pride on our children’s faces as some took to the stage for the first time. We may be a tad biased, but feel compelled to congratulate our incredible cast on an outstanding show.

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The Music Barn

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Aiming

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Congratulations to all who took part in our school ensembles, as well as our talented solo performers Scarlett B (flute), Sophie F (saxophone), Eliza B (voice), Lana C (voice) and Casper D (trumpet). In addition to the concerts, our chamber choir enjoyed visits to three residential homes in the area, performing both choir-only material and leading some congregational carol singing with the residents.

mbitious, resourceful, intuitive, industrious, impressive and distinctive; we have revelled in some truly fantastic Year 8 Summer Projects this term.

Congratulations to all.

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hat a busy and exciting start for the music department this academic year! Our Winter Wonderland concerts provided a wonderful platform for our instrumental and vocal ensembles, assisted wonderfully by Alice Boileau, Glen Rowlan and many of our visiting music team. It was truly magical for the whole prep school to have the chance to give performances of ‘The Legend of Tom Bawcock’, a musical setting of a charming and seasonally appropriate Cornish folkstory, ‘The Snowman’, which is of course always a seasonal favourite, and ‘We’re Walking in the Air’ alongside our orchestra and projection of the original animation. It was great to see such a range of younger and older pupils performing alongside each other in ensembles.

Farewell to Mr Gabbard After 13 amazing years, this term we sadly say goodbye to the legend that is Mr Gabbard. Ray has delighted parents and pupils alike over the years – producing and directing some incredible performances. ‘Oh What a Lovely War’, ‘Oliver’ and ‘Grease’ stand out from the many successes. His calm, patient and nurturing manner have set the tone for Cumnor Drama and he will be greatly missed by everyone who had the joy of spending time with him. The Ukelele playing bard has left the building!

As well as Christmas music, we have been busy preparing candidates for their exams this term. Our ABRSM exams went fantastically well with all ten of our candidates passing their exams, including 8 Merits. A big thank you again to our hardworking team who work so patiently and diligently with our children to guide them through their individual musical journeys.

Looking ahead, we are preparing Year 6 for their appearance at the O2 in London as part of the Young Voices programme (the largest children’s choir in the world) in the New Year. We will also be preparing every child in Year 3, 4 and 5 for their appearance as part of the Cumnor Community Music Day on Saturday 2nd March at Arundel Cathedral.

We will be performing ‘Symphonic Adiemus’ by Sir Karl Jenkins with a full symphony orchestra and adult choral singers from across Sussex.

The Art Barn

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Growing Together

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ur Growing Together Week was a celebration of our collective community identity and an opportunity to reflect on why it is one which stands for kindness. The week culminated in a whole school Carnival-style procession, waving flags and slogans designed by the children, led by our Year 8 samba band and echoing the national Anti-Bullying Week’s campaign to ‘make a noise about bullying’.

he Art Barn is buzzing with positivity and dedication! Our Year 8 scholars have enjoyed a series of three masterclasses covering acrylics, life drawing and portraiture, and printing, including collagraph and mono printing. For some, this was the first time drawing the human form, and the masterclasses have been an invaluable tool, not just in terms of sharing technical expertise, but in building the confidence to experiment. The end of term saw us finalise over 250 entries to the Young Art Competition under the theme of ‘Our Living World’, including entries into the new printing category for Year 4, and the awarding of our new Art Sketchbook Prize.

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Sporting Achievements

Showcasing Talent It has been an immensely busy term for our young performers including a fantastic opportunity for our Year 6 to 8 boys to participate in the casting for a new BBC Drama of The Lord of the Flies, which is filming next year. There’s also been much to inspire with a visit from the Hobgoblin Theatre Company to perform their touring show, The Last Post, and a trip to the Theatre Royal in Brighton to see ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, not to mention our home-grown talent in the surprise Staff Panto!

The commitment and passion of the Cumnor Community for sports training and fixtures has been a sight to behold this term. Thank you to everyone involved from the groundsmen, catering and support staff to the coaches, pupils and parents; it has been a fabulous term and we are very much looking forward to the spring term for more top performances.

Strictly Cumnor Dancing

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uilding confidence, self-discipline, balance and co-ordination, we are delighted to see so many children enjoying Modern Dance in the Prep school, deftly showcased as they competed for the Cumnor Glitterball, performing the Jive, Charleston, Hip-Hop and Salsa. Watch this space for ‘Get Up & Dance’ at Cumnor in January.

• Hockey

The girls’ hockey season has gone from strength to strength across all the age ranges and teams. We’ve seen fantastic progress with great enthusiasm and commitment in training and plenty of passion and fight in the games. The Juniors have enjoyed small sided games, giving our younger girls lots of touches and experience on the time on the pitch, while Year 5 and 6 have really taken to the 7-a-side game, developing new skills and principles. Our Under 11s also travelled to the IAPS competition, taking each learning curve in their stride to finish a commendable third in the Plate.

Strictly Cumnor Dancing

The Seniors continue to set new benchmarks for the school. The 1st team qualified for the IAPS National Finals for the 4th year in a row, also finishing a very commendable 3rd in the Plate. They were also finalists at the UKSA and Worth tournaments. Not to be outdone, the U12s finished 2nd at the Mayfield tournament with the 3rds, 4ths and 5ths having positive results in 80% of their games.

Year 5 Show in a Week, OINK! The Three Little Pigs with a twist! The Year 5 ‘Show in a Week’ was a hilarious take on the well-known story, full of wonderful characters, lively songs and plenty of laughs. Absolutely everyone in Year 5 was involved, helping to foster collaboration and create a joyful atmosphere. The rehearsals and the show itself provided the opportunity to unleash creativity, refine drama skills and try something new. Congratulations to Teddy C who was poised and confident and moved the audience with her sensitive performance of ‘Nobody’. William, Mabel and Teddy were a tremendous trio, performing with energy and verve and the crowd pleaser ‘Come to the Funfair’ had us all juggling and clowning around.

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• Football The boys started the term with the football season.

The Juniors continue to play small sided games to allow all students to experience time on the ball and as many touches as they can; the Festival formats are a great way to foster a love of the games. The Middles promised so much and did not disappoint with plenty of goals and dominant performances making for exciting matches and performances. The IAPS competition was enjoyed by the A team who certainly performed admirably against tough opposition.

The Seniors also produced some outstanding performances across the season, narrowly missing out on a place at the Nationals on goal difference. The 2nd and 3rds acquitted themselves well across the season developing their skills and strategies and the 4th team put in an excellent display at the Be Trewe Festival at Handcross Park.

• Rugby The boys have started their rugby season with some great games. The U13 IAPS side came 3rd in their group having played some much bigger schools in a very competitive south of England festival and the U11s won the Plate having narrowly missed out on reaching the final. Across the age groups the boys have displayed excellent teamwork whether in the contact or touch versions of the game; plenty more to come after Christmas.

• Equestrian Cumnor’s riders have been training and competing with great success, jumping well in their classes and making plenty of improvements along the way, culminating in being crowned NSEA regional grassroots champions!

• Cross Country Throughout the term the running team has been out in force, attending a number of local events as well as hosting our own. The Seniors and Middles have run well with some personal bests and the future is bright with the Juniors showing real promise, especially in the girls team who all placed well.

• Swimming Finally, our swimming galas have been well attended across the ages with some outstanding performances to challenge their PBs. Our children are showing great support for each other in the pool, building top levels of camaraderie.

- M R R O G E R S , DI R E C T O R O F S P O R T

08 term, we are excited to launch ‘Kudos’, our pioneering new curriculum for Years 7 and 8, supporting our This children to leave Cumnor confident of who they are and what they can do, ready for the next stage of life.

Science Week

Through Kudos we are supporting our children to have an ongoing dialogue with their “learning, their successes and failures, their challenges and accomplishments, keeping everything in balance. We are equipping them with healthy habits to become confident learners for life..”

Our annual celebration of STEM at Cumnor started with a bang as Wonderstruck took to the stage with their Dangerous Science show followed by Teach Rex and their slightly less than full size BRUNO SHOVELTON, DEPUTY HEAD ACADEMIC T-Rex model! Once again, the very popular Pre-Prep workshops saw our youngest children making boats, exploring chemical reactions Rigour in Breadth and designing paper helicopters and competitive spirit was put Over the years, the Senior School application process has changed significantly. At Cumnor, we have seen this the test with the Prep House change as a great opportunity to expand and deepen the ‘excellent’ (ISI 2023) education we offer.

Challenges. Red House were triumphant in the boat design and Through Kudos, we will foster water purification categories with curiosity and harness wonder amongst our pupils, developing the cluster of diverse talents, interests Black House storming ahead onand the learning needs unique to each child. We will equip them with healthy learning values, toolschallenge. and habits for life and inspire the ambition to serve those around us through marble run ‘scrap heap’

mentoring and leadership.

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A Season of Change

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he transition from Pre-Prep to Prep is one of huge opportunity and excitement. Years 3 and 4 at Cumnor provide a fantastic opportunity for children to still spend lots of time with their Form Tutor while exploring different learning environments, engendering their independence and offering greater variety and depth across the curriculum. There are many seminal moments in the Autumn term for Year 3; tackling new sports, the much anticipated first away fixtures, new performance opportunities, learning a new instrument and celebrating creativity in the Art Barn.

“We really focus on developing the children’s growth mindsets and creating a ‘have a go’ culture, understanding that making mistakes is a positive part of our learning journey. ”

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N EN CAPABILITIES Core academic learning remains at the ID heart E Mentorship & Leadership of Kudos, alongside our inspirational and Revision skills progressive co-curricular provision. Children Computer skills will continue to follow the CE syllabus for E Study Skills Wellbeing F ENRICHMENT all subjects, with Year 8 examinations inF O R L I Critical thinking Competitions Maths, English and Science. In addition, our his term we have been excited to Projects broader Options and enhanced Enrichment launch ‘Kudos’, our pioneering new curriculum Speakers programme will offer pupils the chance to CORE ACADEMIC for Years 7 and 8, supporting our children to Trips pursue and deepen their current interests new curriculum for Years 7 and 8, supporting our leave Cumnor confident of who they are and English* Geography and do, create newfor ones, underpinned they can ready theallfor next of by life. what they can do, ready thestage next stage of life.

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Kudos

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have an ongoing dialogue with their end result is an official Cumnor and The accomplishments, keeping everything in certificate, across all disciplines, including s to become confident forandlife..” reflections from the learners pupil, Tutor Headmaster. We want all of our pupils to be recognised at their best and to leave Cumnor confident of who they are, what they can do and with a love of learning.

nged significantly. At Cumnor, we have seen this ent’ (ISI 2023) education we offer.

der amongst our pupils, developing the cluster each child. We will equip them with healthy mbition to serve those around us through

Music

OPTIONS Spanish German Coding Textiles Ancient Greek Entrepreneurship

SPORT Games

Drama

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Dance CREATIVE ARTS

Swimming

Art DT

Over the years, the Senior School application process has changed significantly. At Cumnor, we have seen this change as a great opportunity to expand and deepen the ‘excellent’ (ISI 2023) education we offer. Through Kudos we will be fostering curiosity and harnessing wonder amongst our pupils, developing the cluster of talents, interests and learning needs unique to each child. We will be equipping them with healthy learning values, tools and habits for life and inspiring the ambition to serve those around us through mentoring and leadership.

“Our first impressions have truly surpassed expectations. Cumnor is the most inspiring, inclusive and nurturing learning environment.”

With these new opportunities, also comes some challenge and the busier and longer school day takes some adjustment, along with expectations around organisation and time management. However, our strong pastoral focus and close working with a Form Teacher offers security and the opportunity to establish boundaries and classroom disciplines.

Key to the successful first term for our Year 3 children has been our stellar new team, led by Miss Rolls who joined us in September from Wetherby Prep.

Alongside Mrs Hern, Mrs Gostling and Mr Freeman, their enthusiasm and dedication has been clear to all.

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Fundraising & Festive Highlights

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e are delighted to have raised over £15,000 alone

this term for our chosen charities! A huge thank you to all of our parents, friends and family who have donated and volunteered their time to support our fundraising endeavours.

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Cumnor House Sussex London Road, Danehill, Haywards Heath, Sussex, RH17 7HT T: 01825 790 347

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E: office@cumnor.co.uk

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