Falcons Prep - Spring 2022

9 RSPB Big Bird Watch

12

8

Shrek Adventure

World Book Day

19 Eco – School

16

13

Red Nose Day

Wooden Spoon

Issue 9 | Spring 2022 | falconsprep.co.uk

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

WELCOME

Welcome from Miss Buchanan As I write this welcome, in March 2022, there is a strong sense of ‘back to normal’. The school is abuzz with activity, excitement, engagement and learning. Boys have enjoyed fixtures, trips in and out of London, guest speakers, fund raisers and celebrations.

We have recognised World Religion Day, National Story Telling Week, Stand Up to Bullying, Children’s Mental Health Week, Safer Internet Day, World Book Day, Women’s History Month, STEM Week, Pi Day, Comic Relief as well as Inspirational Women in our Lives. And all of this in a grand total of eleven weeks!! How do we fit it all in? Upon reflection, I am not really sure, but once again the entire school community come together to make it happen. The staff continue to go above and beyond to ensure our boys are gaining learning opportunities and enrichment both in and out of the classroom on a range of academic, social and cultural topics. In all parts of the school, we have taken time to focus on the boys, what they need, when they need it and how best to deliver it. Through reading this edition of the school newspaper, we hope that you gain a sense of our busy and exciting term together and enjoy hearing about life at Falcons Prep Richmond.

Of course, I could not write a welcome this term without mentioning two very important, and exciting developments. Firstly, the very exciting announcement that we will launching The Nest, our new co-ed nursery. As an extension of our current Early Years offering, boys will be joined by a cohort of girls forming a class of up to 12 children with access to our outstanding indoor and outdoor facilities.

Children will have two full-time specialist teachers, as well as access to specialist staff. With plenty of collaboration, enrichment and play opportunities with their neighbours and regular access to our onsite Forest School, Tumbledown Woods, we will continue to create a culture that embraces the joy of learning, celebrates challenge and excellence, rewards effort and persistence.

And perhaps most importantly, and a moment I will certainly never forget, Falcons Prep was awarded ‘Excellent’ the highest possible rating in our ISI Educational Quality Inspection. The Educational Quality Inspection reports on two main outcomes: - The achievement of the pupils, including their academic development, and - The personal development of the pupils It is clear throughout the report that our sense of community, focus on the individual child, and the enabling of pupils’ rapid academic and pastoral development are all operating at exceptionally high levels.

It is a great platform upon which we can continue to build! I am delighted with the team’s findings, which are due in no small part to our supportive parents and all the staff in every area of the school. With that being said, I would like to recognise and dedicate this edition to the staff here at Falcons Prep Richmond for their amazing hard work, dedication and excellence in providing an outstanding learning journey for all our boys.

People often ask me why I became a Headteacher, and it’s a difficult question to answer as there are several reasons, as well as a bit of being in the right place at the right time but ultimately, it comes down to two key factors. First, the simple fact that I love working with children, watching them grow and having the privilege of playing a part in their lives. And secondly, and perhaps a little selfishly, I want to make a difference. Being a Head of a school, particularly one such as Falcons Prep Richmond is a huge responsibility. You are tested and challenged, any mistakes made are there in the open for everyone to see, you wear many hats and constantly put others before yourself but each and every day you are making a difference. Being a Head, even throughout the last couple of turbulent years, has and continues to be a joy and an honour. I feel so lucky to be part of this success story. We have a unique and very special school community here at Falcons, with dedicated and innovative staff, children that thrive and love the learning opportunities provided and parents that trust, appreciate and support us in doing what we do best. Together, in the last four years since my arrival, we have been on one breathtaking journey and despite working so hard to get to where we are today, and receiving such esteemed recognition, it certainly does not stop there!

We are so excited about the future of Falcons Prep Richmond and are thrilled that you have decided to join the ride, but remember, this really is only the beginning!

Miss Olivia Buchanan

2

Headmistress

WELCOME

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

Upper School Corner AJ lF My Time at Falcon’s Prep Hi, I'm AJ Head of Kestrel and captain of the first XI for football. I have been at this school for 10 years since nursery and have experienced everything this school offers.

At the moment I am enjoying preparation for senior school life and I am off to Charterhouse this September. School has been very fun across all subjects. In science we have been looking at different energy resources and how they work, in history we have just completed our year 8 documentary on the Great Fire of London and In French we have been memorising our speech for Common entrance.

This school has offered a lot to me and has prepared me well for my future life.

Marcus MCU Hi, I'm Marcus and I support Man United. In this article, I will tell you about Manchester United’s past and present.

Manchester United have been serial winners in the past. Manchester United (Football Club) was founded in 1878. The founder was Lancashire and Yorkshire railway. Old Trafford (the stadium) was a crossing point in the olden times. This name comes from when there were 2 Trafford halls. They were: Old Trafford Hall and New Trafford Hall. Old Trafford Hall was then shortened to Old Trafford.

The original name for Man United was ‘Newton Heath LYR Football Club’. Their nickname in the past was 'The Red Devils’ and it still is. Manchester United have had 22 different managers in the past up till now.

Zak N Nuclear Submarines

Currently, our manager is Ole Gunner Solskjaer. We have got 33 Players in the squad, and we are 6th in the premier league now, but hopefully we will be in the top four by the end of the 2020/21 season.

For my Christmas gift I received a book about an Astute Class Nuclear Submarine, and now I want to share with my friends fascinating facts I have learned about submarines.

Sam S Hockey

From this book I have learnt what a complex and amazing machines submarines are! In the books there were more pictures than a picture book: colorful photos, schemes of submarines’ internal structure and also many interesting facts.

Did you know that when the submarine breaks the surface it doesn’t do any damage as it only brings the center of the ship upwards and then downwards causing a massive water bubble? A few times a year they test their emergency blow system which is used if the submarine is flooding, it is designed to bring them to the surface very quickly. I have also learnt that the acoustic spectrum wavelength created by the submarine is almost four times bigger than an 88 key piano keyboard and the electromagnetic spectrum is at least 100 Nano meters which are ultraviolet lights. The energy of the submarine is enough to power a small city but it does not mean that the submarine, being so powerful, is providing a lot of space for people who work there.

The biggest part of the submarine is used to protect sailors or the rooms to control the submarine.

Mo Tintin Comics Hello, today I will be talking about the Tintin comics, they are good and fun comics. In every comic, they have an adventure such as being in space or at sea. The Adventures of Tintin is a series of 24 Bande Dessinée albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi. They are fun to read.

It is about a boy called Tintin and the captain called Haddock. In my opinion, the two twins are my favourite people in the books or comics. They are mentioned and seen in every Tintin comic book there is in the world. In 2011 they made a film called the “adventures of Tintin”. Fun fact, Tintin was officially made in Belgium.

In Tintin, people think that the comic is translated in French but because Belgium people speak French they are already written in French. Tintin has been published in more than 70 languages with sales of more than 200 million copies and has been adapted for radio, television, theatre and film.

Hello, my name is Sam and I love to play Hockey. For those that do not know, hockey is a sport where you use a stick and a ball. To score a goal, you must hit the ball in a net, you can only use the flat side of the stick to hit the ball.

There are 11 players on the team including one goalkeeper that gets all padded up because if you get hit by a ball it can really hurt. I used to play hockey for two clubs.

Ealing and Richmond with Richmond being at ROKO in Chiswick.

I really enjoyed playing for both clubs especially when we played matches against other clubs because it was both fun and it required you to work hard to get the result you want.

I would encourage you to read such books as even though they seem very technical at first glace, they might be really interesting!

3

IN THE CLASSROOM

Drama Jungle Workshop We had an amazing Drama Workshop focusing on Animal Studies for Reception, Year 3 and Year 4. The boys went on a jungle adventure using games and movement to create the world of the jungle.

Citizenship day On 17th March, the Year 6 boys travelled to Holly Lodge to participate in an afternoon all about Citizenship. During our time there, the boys completed activities from the Met Police, Transport for London, the Fire Brigade (and many more!) and learnt about first aid and stranger danger. The sun shone for us on a wonderful Spring afternoon, and the boys took a lot of useful information away with them.

4

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

IN THE CLASSROOM

Great Fire of London FIRE project On a cold and windy day in January, Year 8 decided to set fire to London....not the real London but a small version! Year 8, over a 2-week period had planned, stuck, cut and created a cardboard version of London in the 17th Century. Our models were tightly packed together, and we had small shards to represent the daub and wattle walls. At approximately 2.30pm, we asked the holder of fire (Mr Dawkins) to set a light to our creation! The boys watched in awe as the fire spread across London – even destroying St Paul’s Cathedral, by 2.40 London was nothing but ash and dust! This project was a part of a documentary challenge, boys wrote voice overs for certain parts and re-created the story through acting and posters.

Natural History Museum At nine we set off for Richmond station, buzzing with excitement as the train rolled on. We got to the museum, went down to the basement and dropped our bags off.

We walked to the dinosaur exhibit, saw the towering legs of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, explored how the dinosaurs walked, and how the continents were made. We walked into another room and a MASSIVE dinosaur animatronic met us with a roar! Its tail twisted and turned, its jaw projecting a loud roar, followed by squawks of other prehistoric animals.

Afterwards, we had a choice to see either the mammals exhibit or the Broken Planet exhibit. I chose to go to the Broken Planet exhibit and look at how human activity is making the jellyfish population rapidly increase. I found out that rising ocean temperatures and overfishing are enabling jellyfish populations to grow at explosive rates.

Next, we went to the Mammal exhibit. As we walked in a huge blue whale presented us with lots of other animals, giraffes, elephants, dolphins, every mammal you could think of. Experiments comparing your weight to an animal e.g., a blue whale, as well as coming face to face with a hippopotamus, a musk ox and the huge blue whale suspended from the roof!

After a short early lunch, we went to go look at the insect exhibit.

Full of every type of insect, we had a look at the enormous scorpion animatronic with nig pincers and claws. Going into a life-sized termite mound, and a bug house. Seeing what types of creepy crawlies live in your kitchen. Make your own arachnid, and a magnifying glass to look at poisonous stingers.

And now to the workshop. We walked into the room where Connor, our workshop leader, showed us a presentation of mars and rovers.

We looked how mars was full of volcanos, and craters, crazy weather and a thin atmosphere, and why we sent up rovers to explore. They showed us a video of scientists saying if we make one what would you have on it; a hand that grabs rocks to investigate? or a tall camera to take pictures of our surroundings. We got to work and did the code to tell our Lego rover what to do. In the end we went on Mars and did our exploring (on a Mars looking table) Finally, we went to volcanoes and earthquakes. We saw obsidians and made our own volcanoes. We went into a room that showed us what it was like to be in an earthquake. It was thrilling!

To conclude, Y6’s trip to the Natural History Museum was fantastic!

By Oliver Tose

5

IN THE CLASSROOM

Castle Competition ‘We had some incredible entries this year for our annual Motte and Bailey Castle competition, boys showed innovation with their materials as well as creativity to create their life like castles!' The winner received 10 merits and the runners up received 5 merits. Well done to all the boys for such incredible projects! The castles were displayed in the gallery for the whole school to admire.

WINNER: Wyatt M for his edible castle – Wyatt has been awarded a Head’s Commendation for his efforts.

RUNNERS UP: Freddie B for his giant Lego castle Isaac A for his coffee shop resourced castle Oliver W for his soil and cress castle Dylan E for his most life-like Motte and Bailey castle

Mathematics 2021-22 In Years 3-5 pupils have been learning about Place Value, Number, Calculation and Fractions. The use of physical resources (Concrete) called “manipulatives” have enabled the boys to understand concepts more visually and to go on an adventure and play with concepts. This has developed into visual representations (Pictorial) of the mathematics linking their understanding to the abstract methods used.

Year 7 have begun the Common Entrance curriculum and have been slowly building up their skills in Number and Algebra before shortly moving onto Geometry. Variation in format and question type have developed their resilience and curiosity when approaching their learning. I am proud of how, through discussion and collaboration, they have already become highly supportive of each other at this stage of their journey from 11+, through CE over the next two years and onto GCSE. In Years 6-8, boys have been preparing for their exams, reflecting upon the learning completed in the previous years and ensuring they have revised the content and filled as many gaps as possible that they had. Practise papers, mock exams, preparation weeks, interview practise and much more, have been the focus of their hard and productive work.

I am delighted with the performance of the Year 6 boys in both their ISEB Pre-Tests and 11+ exams and I wish the Y8 boys the best for June.

By Mr M Boler, Head of Maths Head of Senior Schools

6

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

IN THE CLASSROOM

Club provision and highlights This term we have seen boys building bird boxes in woodwork, using saws and hammers. In Judo club, our boys have achieved their gradings, as the instructor puts them through their paces.

Chess club has seen epic battles across the year groups and continues to test boys' problem solving skills. Our ever-popular History and Mythology film clubs have travelled back in time each week, highlighting the gods as well as some treacherous battles from the past. We are very much looking forward to the Summer Term club provision as we venture outside, taking advantage of the great weather!

National Storytelling Week National Storytelling Week – a week devoted to sharing and promoting some of our favourite stories from around the world. The boys have developed their understanding of the power of words and were challenged to expand their vocabulary. By choosing two ‘words of wonder’ to display around the school, boys (and teachers) have learned many new words – mellifluous, pluviophile, rozzers and disengaged, to mention just a few. Teachers contributed to a display, in which they shared books that had been pivotal in their young lives. They shared their book covers, a passage from the book, a brief review, and a picture of themselves as children. Boys were then asked to identify the teacher from the clues given. The boys have all been taking part in the ‘Round the World’ reading challenge, using the Reading Miles Passport as the vehicle. We hope you have seen increased interest in reading, at home.

The week’s events culminated in our first Great Falcons Storytelling Quiz, at St John the Divine.

A student and teacher representative, aided by students, staff and parents pitted themselves against Mr. Evans’s ten questions, designed to separate those who know their prologue from their blurb, their illustrators from their authors and their Greek heroes from their Shakespearian villains.

7

IN THE CLASSROOM

Reception This term, boys discovered a nest of mysterious eggs in Forest School! We were not sure what had laid the egg so Reception made some predictions about what they thought it could be. Their ideas ranged from spiders to a duck billed platapus! We then investigated eggs from around the world and decided that it could not be any of these animals! We then spoke to our Head of Science, Mr Dawkins who informed us that he was sure that it was a dinosaur egg! Reception enjoyed thinking about what dinosaur could be inside the egg.

To great excitement, the eggs hatched and caused a great mess in the Reception classroom! Boys then created posters to tell the rest of the school about the missing dinosaurs and to warn them to keep a look out for them. We have collected clues from around the classroom and school and will use these as we try to work out what the dinosaurs are when we visit the Natural History Museum!

8

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

IN THE CLASSROOM

World Book Day World Book Day this year was so much fun it ought to have come with the disclaimer, ‘instant hilarity, just add costume and author’.

The day started with everyone arriving in the guise of their favourite book character – we welcomed wizards, dragons, detectives, little old ladies, footballers, foxes, many Wallys and Wilmas, as well as heroes and villains. The children and staff were treated to a presentation, The Seven Secrets of Storytelling, by acclaimed children’s author, Andrew Clover.

Everyone was then set the task of implementing these closely guarded secrets to create a story of their own. As an English teacher, it was a genuine thrill to see so many people so enthralled and enthused by the prospect of creating a written story – the feverish discussion about word choices, plot twists and characters’ motives was wonderful.

During the day, everyone from Reception to Year 6, paraded around a chilly Richmond Green before joining together at the centre for a collaborative story-writing activity. I wish you could have seen the looks of confusion on the faces of Richmond Residents and heard the peels of laughter from our boys.

All boys will now be asked to create their very own stories. I can assure you that today’s fun and frolics will inspire some weird, wonderful, and whacky storylines. Andrew Clover and I are looking forward to reading them when they are finished.

By Mr Evans

9

IN THE CLASSROOM

STEM There was a buzz around STEM week! Every corridor you walked through there was talk of the amazing activities taking place across the school. As a school community all boys planted seeds. Within Science there was exploration into how a plant's growth rate is affected by different factors including: light, temperature, moisture, and soil nutrients. The boys enjoyed investigating how nutrients in compost affect the rate of growth of seedlings. In Upper School, boys took this one step further looking at macronutrients and micronutrients in the soil and considering the advantages and disadvantages of using fertiliser.

In technology the boys took a closer look at computational theory about how life itself evolved, called The Game of Life!

Up the stairs in the Art room, boys were taking their hand to engineering and the key role it has in supporting the growth and development of a country’s economy as well as improving the quality of life for citizens. The boys designed and built their own Spaghetti Towers, working collaboratively in small groups or pairs.

The theme of growth continued in Maths with the boys looking at the planting of trees and the effect this can have on the growth of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. They explored sequences and statistics to describe and analyse growth and decay from a mathematical perspective.

Phew! A lot to pack into one week! The week ended with a STEM exhibition for the school to gather and reflect on the past week’s activities and a visit from Mr Streeter, our guest speaker, in our whole school assembly ended celebrations with a talk about sustainability in our everyday lives. The growth in this field has developed substantially in the past decade, and it left us thinking what value do we put on living sustainably and what can we do as individuals?

Y5&6 Production Stanley Marvel may be the clumsiest clot in Megaville, but he's happy to read his comics and dream his life away.

That is until it's turned upside-down when he discovers that local hero, The Candy King, is actually a Super-Villain determined to conquer the world with his corrupt confectionery!

As the sugary charlatan and his mad minions enslave the citizens with hypnotic gobstoppers and a giant remote control, Stan knows Megaville is in need of a Superhero. But when his crazy Gran and her crumbly chums reveal an earth-shattering secret, Stan's shocked to discover his own true identity!

Year 5 and 6 have loved every second of the rehearsal process for Superstan. They have been developing their characters and putting all their efforts into learning a hefty script, full of songs and dances.

It was such a great show to get back into the theatre. We are all very proud of the boys and all their efforts.

10

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

Forest School Reception have continued to enjoy their visits to Tumbledown Woods, our Forest School and have experienced a great variety of different weather conditions. Recently, we have used tools such as a bill hook to chop wood and have cooked delicious pancakes with melted chocolate and toasted marshmallows on a campfire! It has been fantastic to see how imaginatively the boys have played in Forest School over this term!

Hampton Court Palace On Wednesday, Year 7 and Year 8 went to Hampton Court Palace. We went here as we had been studying the Tudor era in our History lessons with Miss Wrigley, and Hampton Court Palace was built in the Tudor era.

First of all, we went to see the kitchens. There were many different rooms for the kitchens, and there was also a small dining room, where a small number of people would eat, such as the workers at the palace and the servants.

There was fake food there, to give us an idea of what they ate at the time. The spelling was also not so good with words such as: salt spelt as salte, and wine spelt as wyne. There was a massive stove which could probably fit all of Year 7 and Year 8, as well as the four teachers that supervised us. There was also a real fire going on in one of the smaller stoves which was really warm to stand next to.

After that, we explored the palace. We went to the great hall, which was a massive room where people ate, and the king and queen regularly hung out. There were tapestries along the walls, and stained glass showing King Henry VIII. Next to the great hall there was a small room where there was a life size painting of a giant porter that was said to be seven feet, eight inches tall!

After that, we went to a room with lots of paintings in it. There was the original painting of Henry VIII, not a replica but the actual one, that probably would have been over five hundred years old. There were also paintings of Henry VIII wives and a painting of The Break with Rome, where the Pope is being stoned by some people who were throwing rocks saying: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four main disciples who wrote the New Testament in the Bible which was very interesting.

Then, we went to see the chapel which was where Henry VIII and many other Tudor people had church and prayed. On the balcony in the chapel, which was where we were standing there was a replica of King

Henry VIII’s crown, in a glass cabinet which was amazing to see.

After that, we went the Georgian area of the palace, as more was built during the 1700s. In my opinion, it looked quite Roman – like as most of it was white. There were white stone pillars and a big courtyard. There was also a staircase with a massive painting on the wall opposite which I found to be very grandiose.

After that, we went for our workshop tour.

There was a man dressed up in a Tudor costume, who said he was in the year 1558. At the start of this, he told us a lot of information on the Tudors. He told us all the Tudor monarchs: King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. He then went through all six of Henry VIII’s wives. He then told us that the room up above was where Edward VI was born in 1537. We then moved to a little courtyard where we played a game. He tested us on whether each Tudor monarch was Protestant or Catholic. You had to run to one side of the wall if he/she was Protestant and one side if he/she was Catholic. Then the workshop ended.

Then, we went to lunch in a little room with benches. We had a pack lunch given to us by the school. In it there was: an apple juice carton, a sandwich, and some cheese and onion Pom – bears and some fruit which was very nice.

Then, we went to the gift shop where I bought: a giant crown strawberry flavoured lollipop, and a pen with a plastic diamond on the end of it. I think the most popular choice out of Year 7 and Year 8 was probably the apple flavoured giant lollipop, which a bunch of people bought. It took me over two hours to have my giant lollipop!

It was a wonderful and fascinating trip!

by Ben Day 8F.

11

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES

Water & Steam Year 8 went to the London Museum of Water & Steam which has the largest collection of stationary steam engines in the world. The first thing we did was get split into groups where we explored the museum with Emma our guide or with our two allocated teachers. In the morning we went to the water works gallery where we learnt how claustrophobic sewer pipes where, different ways to pump water and old kitchen appliances, which Mr Evans was familiar with. Then we enjoyed a lovely pack lunch prepared by our chef Bruno which we ate by the Dancers End engine. We then had fun in the splash zone and some people got drenched. We also saw Dancers End in power thanks to Emma who got it working with human power. Otherwise we would have to wait 36 hours for the boiler to heat up which contains the equivalent of 31,000 kettles and uses up over a tone of carbon energy. We went to see the 90-inch and 100-inch engine. The 90-inch engine is the biggest working steam engine in the world!

Charles Dickens had visited the steam engine and called it ‘ginormous see-saw’.

By Alex Page Y8

Shrek Adventure On Friday 4th February Year 3 and 4 had an exciting end to Storytelling Week. We travelled by train on a wet and windy day to the South Bank in Central London and that was just the beginning of our escapades!

Our destination was Shrek’s Adventure. We were very excited to go on the tour bus around Far Far Away but unfortunately Donkey was driving the bus (badly) and we crashed into Shrek’s Swamp, accidentally killing Rumpelstiltskin’s favourite witch in the process! This caused us a real problem – we had to find our way back from Far Far Away without being caught by Rumpelstiltskin or the rest of the witches!

We ended up having lots of adventures and met many famous characters along the way including Cinderella, Pinocchio and The Muffin Man! As part of our quest we had to find potion ingredients, remember magic words and show initiative and courage. Luckily, we were successful and met Shrek as we arrived back in London.

Our next adventure of the day was an awesome trip around the London Sealife Centre. We saw fish of all shapes and sizes (including sharks bigger than us) that swam over us, under us and all around us. There were also jellyfish, some insects and even a crocodile. The final surprise was penguins! We were able to get really close.

We loved it.

We then went back into Shrek’s Adventure for a Storytelling Workshop. This was fun and active, we learnt about the storytelling process and also how an author has to make choices about how and what the characters do.

12

We had a long, tiring day but it was the perfect adventure to end National Storytelling Week.

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

Tower of London On Wednesday 16th March, Y3,4 and 5 set off for the Tower of London via tube. After a quick tour of Henry VIII’s armour and the staircase where the Princes in the Tower were rumoured to be buried, we took part in a Crime and Punishment workshop. Boys were treated to a tour of the dungeons, prisons and the execution green – a gory day! This workshop discussed History throughout the ages, Medieval London for Y5 and Anglo-Saxon Crime and Punishment for Y3&4. After all that gore and punishment... we set off for the shop to brighten our spirits!

Here is what Dylan had to say about the trip: The day started with torrential rain! However, that didn't stop us from having loads of fun!

When we got to the Tower of London, we walked to meet our History Guide. He had weird looking handcuffs on the side of his trousers, and they handcuffed us! It was BRILLIANT! Later, we heard how a prisoner escaped from the room we were in! After the prisoner had been tortured for his crime, he chose some equipment that helped him run away with his friend.

Another highlight was seeing a glass pillow where prisoners' heads were chopped off... including two of Henry VIII's wives! It was one of our favourite trips so far.

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

PASTORAL

Eco Schools Another busy and successful term.

Obviously we continue to encourage people to follow our Eco-Code and save energy, pick up litter and travel to school in an environmentally conscious way. But what new things have been going on?

We’ve chitted this season’s crop of potatoes, Grown on the surviving succulents from our vertical wall garden (and even propagated some babies), Planted hedgerow trees with Surrey Wildlife Trust near Dorking, And created an environmental Award Scheme – the Eco-Passport.

Hopefully a Beach Clean – up in Sussex and Beekeeping next term! Exciting stuff!

Mr Martin (Eco-Coordinator), Thomas Day (Eco-Ambassador) and the Eco-Committee.

Children's Mental Health Week A child’s mental health is the foundation for everything they do in life. At Falcons we recognise this in all aspects of the boy’s day-to-day experiences. This term was Children’s Mental Health Week. We used this to celebrate our pastoral culture and the many offerings we have to support pupils with their emotions and feelings. During the week, the boys focused on strategies to manage their mental health using their Form Times to discuss recurring problems and resolutions. The MIND charity joined us and ran a workshop on balancing stress and the things we can do to safeguard and promote our mental wellbeing. Over the Half Term, the boys took part in a mental health challenge and were asked to take time to complete an activity that gave them joy or some reflective quiet time.

13

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

PASTORAL

Diversity Forum This term, the Diversity Forum met to discuss our progress following our initial meeting in the Autumn Term. The school has been busy implementing all of the wonderful ideas, and we welcomed our first batch of cultural themed days including celebrating vegetarian faiths through an Indian themed meat free Monday, Burns Night and Chinese New Year. We also have scheduled in a number of different assemblies covering different religions and have reviewed the celebration days that we celebrate as a school!

We also discussed the club provision and the possibility of incorporating clubs including sign language for next term! This term, we also hosted our first House Charity Breakfasts with the theme of Inspirational Women.

House Inspirational Women Breakfast This term we hosted our House Charity Breakfasts for the first time ever! What a fantastic event this was! The theme was ‘Inspirational Women’ and all pupils invited the inspirational women in their lives to attend. All of the donations went towards the Gold Standard Charitable Trust and all of the boys loved spending time with the inspirational women in their lives, sharing a croissant or two!

14

School Council The School Council and CTC committee give Falcons boys a chance to actively engage with the development of our school.

As a close nit community, we encourage all the pupils to have an active role in many of the decisions we make and to offer feedback to us that shapes our future. This term, the CTC committee has been using its new stall in the Gallery to advertise their role and function at Falcons.

Different committee members check in with their peers and discuss current issues whilst taking part in calm engaging activate.

The School Council has also been a busy channel with members broadcasting their form’s opinions on a range of issues such as our new playground equipment, homework timetables and most importantly our delicious school lunches!

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

House Competitions

Hobby

Merlin

Kestrel

Peregrine

The Spring Term provided the boys with all sorts of exciting competitions to participate in. We kicked off with the House Recipe competition. We had all sorts of wonderful dishes submitted and well done to our winners who had their recipes made for the whole school to enjoy!

Next up was the House Writing Competition, with record entries this year! This was linked to the theme ‘adventure’ following on from our visiting speaker Nick Carter, and Mr Evans and Miss Wyatt thoroughly enjoyed reading the various poems, stories and in some cases books!

this one is! All of the boys in all year groups participate to see who can stack and destack 6 cups the fastest!

The Spring Term also provided us with the House Rugby Competition and well done to all of the pupils that participated.

We then embarked on the House Cup Stacking Competition.... what a competition

House Writing Competition Results: WINNERS: Year 345 Winner: Dylan E (Peregrine) with his Poem ‘An Adventure Under the Sea’ Runner Up: Milo M (Kestrel) with his story ‘The Arctic Blizzard’ Year 678 Winners: George W (Hobby) with his story ‘Space Adventure’; AND Will P (Kestrel) with his story ‘Journey of a lifetime’

House Recipe Competition Winners RESULTS: Main: Milo M (Kestrel) Daddy’s Awesome Sausage Pasta Archie K (Hobby) Pasta a la Hobby (vegetarian) Side: Tyler C (Merlin) Stollen Bread Dessert: Dominic W (Hobby) Orange and Cranberry Tiramisu

Runner Up: Arthur H (Hobby) with his poem ‘Adventure’

House Cup Stacking Competition Results We then embarked on the House Cup Stacking Competition.... what a competition this one is! All of the boys in all year groups participate to see who can stack and destack 6 cups the fastest!

House Cup Stacking Competition Results:

Year 345 Ivan T (5) Hobby Year 678 Joseph P (7) Merlin

15

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

COMMUNITY & CHARITY

Bandai Namco Whilst we may not always like it and we would do well to keep a watchful eye on it, there is little doubt that our boys adore gaming.

We grown-ups, perhaps, know little of Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Pokémon Shield, Sea of Thieves, Minecraft, Marvel’s Avengers, Plants Vs Zombies or Final Fantasy VII Remake (naming just a few), but our students’ knowledge far outstretches ours. Naming any one of those games is likely to result in an explosion of conversation, debate, and argument. So, during this last term, Year 7 students have had the opportunity to link with the internationally renowned, multimillion-dollar gaming organisation, Bandai Namco. Mr Lee Kirton, Communications and Marketing Director and carer of PACMAN visited school to challenge the boys to collaborate in developing a gaming platform, characters, challenges and to explore their games financial potential. The students worked together to produce a presentation, character and setting descriptions as well as exploring how much of their (fictional) budget they would give to development or sales and marketing. To say the results are astonishingly accomplished is to do them a disservice; all we will say is that we have talked to the boys about intellectual property rights and would not be surprised if they went on to be wealthy game producers and developers. We must extend our thanks to Mr Kirton and Bandai Namco for giving us their time, expertise, and encouragement.

Comic Relief On Friday 18th March, we celebrated Comic Relief by coming to school all dressed in red! Pupils were able to buy red noses, and all were encouraged to donate money towards their mufti day.

At break time we held our very own charity sweet stall! Many thanks to the PA for their assistance with this. The boys had a fabulous day and raised lots of money for an excellent cause.

Nick Carter Adventurer talk

16

On the 21st January, we welcomed Nick Carter, the explorer and adventurer, to our assembly to talk about his amazing adventures, like climbing mount Everest, living with remote tribes, and swimming the English Channel (even though he wasn’t very good at swimming).

date and explains how to develop important adventure values yourself.

The book also nudges children to go out and experience these values through age-appropriate missions.

Nick uses his amazing adventures to teach children how to take more courageous decisions in life; and how kindness and resilience can be used to make every day more meaningful.

This assembly then sparked the pupil's curiosity to enter our House Writing Challenge all around the theme ‘Adventure.’.

Pupils then had the opportunity to buy Nick’s book that tells the stories behind his biggest adventures to

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

Pre-Prep Science and Robotics workshop In STEM week, the boys from Pre-Prep visited the Falcons Prep Richmond for an afternoon of everything STEM – that’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The boys loved going into a real laboratory and putting on proper lab coats and safety goggles to keep them safe. Mr. Dawkins let them experiment with chemicals to carry out proper chemical reactions. They were really colourful and made lots of bubbles. Then the boys went to the Technology department where Mr. Russell showed them how to construct, modify and control real robots. I am sure the boys will be applying these skills in the future when robots will be part of their lives.

COMMUNITY & CHARITY

COMMUNITY & CHARITY

The Nest launch We were delighted to welcome over 40 new families to the launch of the Falcons Nest Forest School. A space for children to explore, take risks, be curious and learn new skills. Prospective parents and visitors had an opportunity to watch, learn, be amazed, and join in on learning adventures!

Since its launch in February, we have continued to welcome pupils who have taken part in music, dance and pancake making sessions in our Forest School.

18

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

COMMUNITY & CHARITY

Wooden Spoon A huge thank you to the whole school community for supporting the Rugby Challenge afternoon for Wooden Spoon. The afternoon was a huge success raising £900 in sock sales, and a further £505 on our just giving page.

WOW! A huge thank you to Mr. Shaw and his team for such a well organised event. I am sure that Wooden Spoon and Spoonie are very grateful and will put the money to good use to help others.

19

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

SPORTS

Cross Country Some great performances again this year in the house cross country race. Some excellent times with congratulations to Milo M, James B and Jenson B on their 1st place finishes across their year groups. Well done to the U11 & U13 sides in a number of races this year, including the Arnold House Cross Country.

20

Swimming

Tennis Success

James B (Y6) competed in the Surrey County ASA Swimming Championships at the London Aquatic Centre (Olympic Swimming pool) on Saturday 19th February. James qualified to swim in 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly races. He swam very well, making both the 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly finals. The finals were extremely fast and tight races, James came 4th overall in 50m backstroke with new personal best time and 6th overall in the 50m Butterfly. Well done James!

Congratulations to Ivan T for his tennis success last weekend! He won the London & South East Tour – Will to Win grade 5 U10 and the ITF WTN World Tennis Association Indoor Championships U11. An amazing achievement!

Well done, Ivan!

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

SPORTS

Hockey Well done to our 1st team who took part in the Prep School’s Hockey Festival at the Olympic Park’s Lee Valley Hockey Centre.

The team performed well and enjoyed playing in such a fantastic stadium.

Rugby All the year groups have made great progress this term, having missed last season due to Covid.

All sides enjoyed fixtures against Arnold House, Tower House, Wetherby and Fulham Prep. The 1st XIII led the way by playing at StoneX Stadium, home of Premiership side Saracens. They performed well throughout the tournament, finishing in style with a victory in their last game.

21

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

FROM THE PA

From the Falcons Prep Parents Association We close the spring term having enjoyed another busy few months for the PA at Falcons Prep. Once again, our focus has been on supporting our boys with their various community and charitable endeavours.

For this term, the main event has been in support of Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. As is clear from the many photographs taken on the day, the Falcons Prep Wooden Spoon challenge in March was tremendous fun as well as serving such an important purpose.

Red Nose Day came to Falcons and the PA were delighted to offer the boys a very special tuck shop offering red-themed sweets to raise much needed funds for Comic Relief (a charity we all know and love and who work hard to support some incredible projects making a change to people’s lives across the UK and around the world).

Not forgetting the other side of PA activities and of course this means the social gettogethers! So, with restrictions finally lifted, we are looking forward to planning an end of school year summer party for parents and Falcons staff. Please stay tuned for more info which we will share via the WhatsApp group chats asap!

Wishing everyone a peaceful Easter break.

Best wishes

Falcons prep wooden spoon challenge Falcons Prep boys were thrilled to see the return of the Wooden Spoon challenge. They donned their stripey socks to show their support and embarked on an afternoon of physical challenges all to raise as much as possible for this important children’s charity.

Wooden Spoon, an official charity of Falcons Prep for almost 6 years, funds life-changing projects across the UK & Ireland that support vulnerable children and young people. A national charity, but the largest part of their income is raised by local volunteers, and their aim is that every penny raised is spent on life-changing projects in their local communities.

Through the purchase of the socks, along with the incredible generosity of Falcons parents, family and friends via our justgiving page, we have raised £1405 for Wooden Spoon. Thank you Falcons!

Jude, Rosie and Anna Judith le Fleming: PA Chair Judith.lefleming@blueyonder.co.uk Rosie Orringe: PA Dep Chair rosie.orringe@me.com Anna Harrisson: Treasurer annaharrisson@yahoo.co.uk FALCONS PA MEMBERS Jude le Fleming Chair (Yr 8 parent) Rosie Orringe Deputy Chair (Yr 4 parent) Anna Harrisson Treasurer (Yr 6 & Yr 8 parent) Alex Latti R Jessica Bird Y3 Alison Adebutu Y4 El Terakopian Y4 Kristy Misan Y5 Wendy Musil Y5 Luli Tose Y6 Fleur Bird Y7 Naomi Dent Y7 Sally Ricketts Y8

22

Valentine bake sale Excitement at Falcons on 11th February with our Valentine themed bake sale. Plenty of amazing cakes, doughnuts, and brownies to tempt our boys in their lunch break.

Thank you year 5 and 6 for your baked goodies and to Wendy and Sabita for your help on the day.

Red Nose Day Since its launch in 1988, Red Nose Day has become a much-anticipated date in the calendar. It’s the day when people across the land join forces to raise money for brilliant causes in the UK and around the world.

Falcons Prep joined in the fun and the PA were thrilled to lay on a special tuck shop for our boys to buy red-themed sweets all in aid of Comic Relief. As you can imagine, this event was very popular with the boys as well as being part of another key fundraising day for the school. We are still totting up the sum raised and will share in the summer term.

| Issue 9 | Spring 2022

FUTURE SCHOOLS

2020-21 Alumni – Letter from Eton (Year 9) Dear Miss Buchanan and the Falcons community, It would be easy to say that everything about Eton is different to Falcons. It's a boarding school so I live here all week and over the weekend too. Again, unlike going to Falcons, Eton is a small town so getting from lesson to lesson is like walking from Falcons to St Mathews to get to RS (or as we call it 'Divinity') and then to Richmond Station for Geography.

We even have a different language that I need to learn along with all the others, teachers are 'Beaks', homework is EW (extra work), lessons are 'schools' and exams are 'trials'. However, there are many similarities that make settling in much easier. All the subjects we study are the same as at Falcons, we get excellent food (although not quite as good as Chef Louise's) and play a lot of sport.

There have been new experiences too which I have enjoyed. I have listened to visiting speakers talk about how they founded Deliveroo or became an actor, been to the theatre in Windsor as well as watching other boys put on House plays at school and learned to play new sports including squash and the Field Game.

I found it hard to begin with. Life here is super busy and the expectations are really high. Falcons taught me not to be afraid to ask questions and that helped enormously with settling in at the beginning, and still does in all my lessons. I had been taught that it’s ok not to know everything, yet. All the teachers here support us to meet the challenges we face and that reminds me of Falcons too.

All the very best, Oscar Jeffs

23

Wishing you all a fantastic break and a very Happy Easter from all at Falcons Prep! registrar@falconsprep.co.uk T: 0208 9489490 Falcons Prep Richmond 41 Kew Foot Road, Richmond, TW9 2SS Find us on @Falcons_prep @FalconsPrep @falconsprep @Falcons Prep – Richmond

Issue 9 | Spring 2022 | falconsprep.co.uk