King’s Hall School Prep · PDF fileKing’s Hall School Prep Newsletter ... and then the String Quartet playing ... holding a spellbound audience’s attention with a beautiful...

King’s Hall School

Prep Newsletter

Edition 27 4th July 2014

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HEADlines

And suddenly it is quiet..........a moment to wander silently around the school and pick up the odd echo of the last week's incredible busyness. The farewells to our leavers and Mark Irons are also still in the air after a happy, inspiring and uplifting Prize Day led by the amazing Laura Bates. The end of this Summer term was no exception to the pattern that sees the intensity and the emotion rise to great heights and then, almost in an instant, the children depart and a serene loneliness takes over the school site. I have just written a letter to parents and so I will try not to be repetitive. After the formalities, we had a lovely lunch and Mr Coupland led us beautifully through a few memories of Mr Irons' time at the school - some of which I think he had forgotten about! The celebrations continued after that, too. This final newsletter for 2013-14 completes the catalogue of events from a remarkably successful year and every child should be very proud of all the 'personal bests' they have achieved in that time. It is time for a break in which to recharge and reflect for a while and then prepare for the new adventures ahead in September. I hope you all enjoy much happiness and carefree fun between now and then

Justin Chippendale

Prize Day 2014

It was certainly a Prize Day to remember as yet another terrific year at King’s Hall drew to a close. There were the deserving Prize winners; so much happiness, endeavour and success to review across the whole school; the stimulating and inspirational words of former pupil Laura Bates; the tearful goodbyes to children, some of whom have been here for ten of their thirteen year lives; as well as acknowledging staff who are leaving us, including the incredible service of the retiring Mark Irons. All of these created a heady mix of emotions on a very special occasion. We are so very fortunate to live, work and play within a family of children, parents, staff, Governors and friends who combine so powerfully to form this remarkable school.

After a break to share the excitement of the ceremony we returned to the Sports Hall for the Summer Concert. We began with the school Orchestra on top form playing two famous film themes – Star Wars and Chariots of Fire – thereby beginning a loose theme that would run throughout the concert. They were followed by Hope Webster (Y8) who sang the gently lilting Path to the Moon beautifully. The Guitar Group followed with two pieces that have also featured prominently in film – My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic) and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (used in a great many films!). The calm, rich sound of the ensemble was the perfect foil to the rousing showstopper that came next; Michael Warrick (Y6) performed the exciting He’s a Pirate theme from Pirates of the Caribbean with passion and flair. Two string ensembles followed with the Junior Strings first performing the bouncy and fun Ping Pong, and then the String Quartet playing an arrangement of themes from the film Gladiator. Henry Adcock (Y8) impressed with the ever-popular Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremiah Clarke and the Senior Choir sang two contrasting pieces –John Rutter’s elegant For the Beauty of the Earth and then David Sprunger’s I Hear Music.

The Brass Group presented a further foray into film with I’ve Got My Eye On You - a theme from the second Pirates of the Caribbean film - and then Edward Cashmore (Y8) played a terrific drum solo to Elbow’s track The Bones of You. A trio of further Year 8 leavers came next with Harriet Fox playing the haunting The Little Lost Tender, Ranulf Mason dazzling with the pianistic flurries of Scarlatti’s Sonata in F minor and Flora Keeling holding a spellbound audience’s attention with a beautiful rendition of Moon River. Years 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 joined to create a massive choir to sing Pharell Williams’ Happy in thrilling four-part harmony (with James Flatt (Y7) on the drums), and the concert was brought to a close by the leaving Year 8s with a fun arrangement of the chart-topper Rather Be by Clean Bandit, featuring instrumental parts played by the all-Y8 group of Eliza Chapple and Bailey Cameron (violins), Ranulf Mason (viola), Henry Adcock (trumpet), Harriet Fox (clarinet) and Andrew Hayden-Briffett (drums).

The final act of the term was to say goodbye to Year 8 and Mark Irons (with a cup now dedicated to his 35 year sporting legacy) with a heartfelt blessing to see them on their way. We await news of their future endeavours with anticipation - Mark included!

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Leavers’ BBQ

The Year 8 leavers’ BBQ is always a wonderful occasion with pupils and staff sharing memories and looking forward to an exciting future. After a fantastic Charity Fete in which all of the children excelled with a large variety of entertaining stalls, the children had a swim - a perfect way to cool off and have fun in the outdoors.

When the hunger pains began to grumble the BBQ was lit and Mr Hands and Mr Sprague cooked up a feast. Sausages and beef burgers were the order of the day as the whole of Year 8 sat around the picnic benches in front on the cricket pavilion. An array of scrumptious cream cakes were devoured for pudding before the final event of the evening began.

The tug of war activity was so much fun and saw many differing groups pitting themselves against one another. The children said a huge thank you to those who had made the event possible and a rousing round of applause signalled ‘home time’.

Numeracy Teaching to Year 2 by CE Prep Pupils

What to do after the Common Entrance exams? We need to engage the pupils with a meaningful project that they will enjoy but also give something back to the King’s Hall community. Mrs Foster’s CE class was given the opportunity to teach Year 2 and Year 3 Maths lessons. The Year 8 pupils were placed into pairs or groups of three and had a range of topics in which to plan, prepare resources and teach to the younger children. The topics included Time, Angles, Fractions, Metric Measurement, Using and Organising Data, Addition and Solving Problems. It was very impressive the way the groups thought of unique and interactive strategies to get the Year 2 and 3 children involved, such as number pairs to 10 where each child was given a number on a big piece of paper and they had to physically move around the room to find their partner!

All of the groups had to present to their peers and Mrs Foster the week before the actual teaching for development points, positive feedback and other comments. This helped them to reflect on what they were doing and how to improve to offer the best possible lessons for the younger children. Initially, it was quite for the Year 8 students to put themselves in a Year 2 or 3 framework, but they learned through the planning of their projects that they had to offer visual, relevant and active learning to help the children understand the topics. This project was taken very seriously by the Year 8 pupils and they very much enjoyed it. Well done!

A view from the Rose Garden ...

Highlights from the last two weeks for 3T have been:

Lots of children from 3T performed during La Fete de la Musique

Here we can see Thomas Herbert and Tom Kittow having a water fight at the Year 8 Fete.

In class we have been carding , spinning and weaving as the Ancient Celts would have done.

In English the whole class have written some super Myths.

In Maths we have been collecting data to draw pictograms.

As the year draws to an end for the pupils in Year 3. Mrs Hayden-Briffett and Mrs Thomas

would like to wish them good luck as they move into Year 4.

We look forward to welcoming Mrs Gray to Year 3

and wish Mrs Keirle all the best as she moves to Year 5 .

Academic Life... Geography The end of the Summer term provides an opportunity to reflect on the past academic year. Many of the highlights centre on the field trips that have taken place, with the Year 4 trip to Lulworth Cove and the Year 7 visit to Dunster being particularly enjoyable. On a personal note the opportunity to go on the Year 7 trip to Switzerland was a thrill and, as a geographer, it was good to see the pupils applying the human geography they had learned in class to the things they were seeing around them, both in the Alps and in settlements like Gruyeres and Lausanne (without any prompting from me I may add!). The Geography Common Entrance results were impressive and a well deserved reward for the hard work the Year 8 pupils have shown this year. Congratulations to them. On a lighter note I particularly enjoyed the following answers when marking the internal exams: Question: What is lava called before it reaches the surface? Answer: Mama Question: Name a product of a volcano. Answer: Lager I wouldn't want to meet the first one's Mother, but I would like directions to the second place! Happy Holidays! Bob Coupland Head of Geography

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Music This academic year has been hugely successful for the school in many areas and we have certainly seen our fair share of wonderful events and accolades in the Music department. Before I look ahead to next academic year, I would like to cast an eye briefly over some of the past year’s highlights: I will remember the poignancy of the Remembrance Service and the beauty of the Carol Service; a terrific run of performances of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe from Year 8; the Senior Choir singing carols at the County Cricket Ground; particularly impressive results from the Taunton Music Festival (twelve first places out of twenty-three entries); spine-tingling formal concerts in both the Michaelmas and Lent terms; a thrilling House Music Competition; seven informal concerts in Prep and a further two in Pre-Prep; Pre-Prep Christmas and Summer shows; performances from the Pre-Prep Choir; a small group of children taking part in the moving joint IAPS schools concert in Exeter Cathedral; members of the Senior Choir giving a memorable concert in St Michael’s Church, Orchard Portman; a relaxed and charming Fête de la Musique; and a total of fifty-two pupils taking ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall exams (the results of which were of a very high standard – twenty-two Distinctions and fourteen Merits with only one more result still to come from the most recent AB exam session). It is difficult to see how next year could better that, but plans are already under way!

French

Year 6 have been letting their ‘inner’ weather girls and boys shine through this week, reporting on the weather in various French-speaking countries. In Year 3 we have also learnt the basic weather phrases and have spent two weeks learning a short play in French, Le Vent et le Soleil, where the wind and the sun battle it out to see who is the strongest. The sun wins! Let’s hope this is the case for our Summer! Bonnes vacances!

Year 8 Charity Fete

The Year 8 Charity Fete saw a field full of children enjoying themselves in glorious sunshine. The Year 8 pupils had adopted EducAid, a charity in Serra Leone that provides education for children in the poorest country in the world, as the benefactors.

In the weeks leading up to the Fete, the tutors and pupils decided on the stall they wanted to run and on the the big day the pupils used their town time and their own money to purchase what they needed for the stalls. As in previous years the theme involved a lot of sweets and some water activities! Walking around the event I was struck by how hard the children were working at the stalls to keep their clients happy. With tokens to the value of around 40p a go it is all credit to everyone that £1000 was raised.

Out of the classroom...

County Cricket Update As previously mentioned, we have five players representing their respective county cricket age group sides. Tom Clark is playing for the Under 13 team; they have won three matches out of three and Tom contributed very well in the victory over Devon - he took one wicket for thirteen runs in eight overs and scored an important ten not out. James Flatt is playing for the under 12 side; they have won three out of four and James bowled effectively in their victory over Gloucestershire, amazingly ending up with the same figures as Tom – eight overs, one for thirteen. George Thomas has been captaining the under 10 side who have won one game out of three. James Rew has been keeping wicket impressively and he scored an invaluable 38 in the victory over Wiltshire. Meanwhile, Josh Thomas managed to complete a very rare thing, he achieved a hat trick in the defeat by a strong Berkshire side. Josh ended up with figures of four wickets for 34 runs.

National Athletics Success

This week has seen Harriet Fox and Ellie Carrow competing at the National Prep Schools Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Harriet ran a very tactical 800 metre race in a personal best time of 1 minute 23 seconds which saw her finish in third place and win the bronze medal. Ellie competed in the high jump which was a very competitive event and she performed brilliantly to finish sixth, gaining a height of 1 metre 43 centimetres. Very well done, girls!

Fencing Hobby

A new hobby this year, our beginners Fencing course has now run for two consecutive terms. Fencers have learnt how to move around the piste, how to make direct lunge and thrust attacks, quarte parry riposte and even a counter riposte!

During the Summer holidays, eleven of the King’s Hall up and coming young fencers are attending a training camp run by a Hungarian coach - Hungary has always been one of the world’s leading countries in fencing, with their coaches being highly sought after for their expertise and unique technical skills.

In September we will be starting our very own Fencing Club, which will run from 4.15 p.m. on a Wednesday. Those that have successfully completed the beginners hobby are invited to sign up. Those that are new to the sport and keen to get involved should sign up for the next beginners hobby which will run on a Monday 4.45 p.m. - 5.45 p.m.

Many thanks to all those who have come along and had a go!

Sport Action and News...

Cricket Junior House Match Playoffs: Wednesday saw Gibbs take on Bradfield in the colts cricket final. Bradfield eased home to win comfortably, in the end, with some excellent shots played by George Thomas. The result aside, this was a great display of the improvements that the boys have made over the season. It was played in a fantastic spirit and really emphasised what King’s Hall sport is all about. Well done to everyone who was involved.

Senior Rounders Match Playoffs: The challenge was to complete two rounds of house matches in three and a half hours on a single Wednesday afternoon and produce a winning house at the end of it. No mean feat given the funereal over rates that seem to be bowled in schools cricket these days. To overcome this conundrum we devised our own form of Kwick Cricket and so successful was it that it may well be patented! Matches were ten overs per inning, bowlers’ run ups were restricted to ten paces, ends were changed after five overs (and not at the end of every over) and there were no extra balls for wides or no balls (just two penalty runs plus any that were run). Oldham beat Gibbs and Whitby beat Bradfield in the first round of matches with Whitby beating Oldham in the final and Gibbs beating Bradfield in the consolation match. This left Whitby overall winners, with Oldham in second place, then Gibbs and finally Bradfield.

Rounders Junior House Match Playoffs: Bradfield took a strong lead after their first innings scoring 10 1/2 rounders to 3. They proved strong when fielding as well, limiting Whitby's ability to get to second post. There were good catches from Anna Flatt (at the expense of a bump to the cheek) and Kezia Ogle. The final score was Bradfield 15 to Whitby’s 4 ½.

Senior Rounders Match Playoffs: A fantastic game, starting with an ‘all out’ innings which gave only a one rounder lead to Gibbs, mostly due to the super scoring power of the Chambers’ sisters! For Whitby, it was dark horse Natasha Chaloner that kept them in the running. The second innings was a 'good ball' one, so a quick change of tactics was needed. Gibbs batted first, and this time Millie Spurr, Flora Keeling and Karis Chambers made life difficult for Whitby and notched their total up to 24. A somewhat daunting task for Whitby, leading to a few negative 'we've lost' thoughts, however, they rallied on and Pilar Guerra and Ella Milne played very well for the team. A great afternoon of House sport - well done girls!

Athletics Senior Inter House Athletics:

It was very pleasing to finally stage the senior inter-house athletics after it had been postponed on two previous occasions. The boys and girls produced some wonderful performances throughout the morning with the 800 metres and 4 x 100 metre relays being the most hotly contested. In the boys’ competition the Zeregbe brothers were exceptional, whilst Ed Hunt ran a strong 800 metres. Great team work by Whitby meant that they won the relay race in fine style. The girls were equally impressive, with Harriet Fox showing her class in the distance events and Eliza Chapple performing strongly in the hurdles event. Whitby were crowned Senior Athletics winners but it was Bradfield who won the overall competition with successful results throughout the age groups. Well done to all competitors!

Swimming

Senior Inter House Swimming:

The inter-house Swimming championships took place on two consecutive Mondays at the King's College swimming pool. On both afternoons there was a great deal of excitement and the noise levels were quite deafening at times. Everyone in the school is selected for their house team. It is amazing how competitive the children are with their peers!! Bradfield were the overall House winners from the six age groups, followed very closely by Gibbs.

The Boarders’ World...

The last weekend of the year so it had to be a good one ... and it was!!

Sunday started wet which wasn’t what we wanted but by 9.00 am the sun came out for just enough time to inflate the assault course and to get the cob oven and camp fires going. Then it poured, but hey its only rain and when added to a 45 foot inflatable, there results were top class fun and more washing for Matron!

The children all helped to make the dough for the pizzas and there was endless chopping of onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms and herbs resulting in a scrumptious pizza base. There was then time for a quick break of toasted marshmallows - a must when there’s a fire going. Most of the children created their own pizza and cooked them in the cob oven with some opting to make a pasta bake, which was also baked in the oven. This was quickly followed by ice lollies. After this there was more acrobatic fun on the inflatable, followed by a good long swim in the pool. The evening was finished off watching the film “Hugo” snuggled in our duvets in the Arts Centre.

Things you didn’t know about ...

Teacher Mr Gates

Head of ICT, Year 7 Form Teacher and Maths Teacher

Y8 pupil Tina Yuan

What has been your greatest achievement? Why?

Being able to tell really bad jokes Why?

Because it makes other people’s jokes sound good.

My greatest achievement was coming in 12th place

in the school Cross Country. I know this is not first

place but I was really pleased!

If you could be anyone in the world, who would it be?

Will Gates.

If I could be anyone in the world I would like to be

Ling Huei Ying because she is a very good poet,

architect and also very knowledgeable.

What is your favourite hobby?

Photography

My favourite hobbies at King’s Hall are running,

tennis, piano and drawing as they all give me the

opportunity to improve and be active.

Which house are you in at King’s Hall and why is it the best?

Oldham - common respect, great staff, great pupils and always able to cope with success or failure in the

same way.

My house is Bradfield and it is the best house

because we stick together when the competition is

hard and cheer each other on to win the match.

What is your nickname? Why?

‘Gatesey’ Why? No idea, started from a very early age.

I do not have a nickname.

What is your favourite television programme?

Grand Designs and The Apprentice

I like to listen to the music channel; however, I do

not watch many television programmes. I do watch

a lot of films and my favourite film is ‘Rio’.

What is the greatest natural landmark you have seen in person?

Hermanus Bay South Africa; sitting outside with Rachel, drinking Sauvignon Blanc and watching the

whales swim close to shore.

The greatest natural landmark that I have seen is

Niagra Falls in America, it was wonderful!

Where in the world would you most like to visit and why?

Hurmans Farm, North Curry. It is our home.

I would like to go to Australia as they speak English

and I could continue to improve my learning and

also because there are lots of kangaroos and farm

animals that I would like to see.

What is your funniest joke?

A man walked into a bar, swore and walked away. What did the bee say to the flower?

“Hello honey”

Of what are you most afraid?

Heights! I am afraid of leaving King’s Hall

and losing my friends.

Funniest moment you have ever witnessed?

With the aid of a bike riding sports teacher, repeatedly showering Mrs Hollow with water from water pistols, as she snoozed in the sun during her

lunch break; then being chased around school when she realised what was going on.

The moment that made me laugh the most was a

scene from the film, ‘She’s the Man’, where the

main character is dreaming that she is playing

football in a wedding dress.

If you were given 3 wishes what would you choose?

Wish time went a little slower. Wish I could remember all my passwords.

Wish everyone connected with King’s Hall a wonderful Summer Holiday.

If I had three wishes I would choose to stay here

(King’s Hall) forever, for there to be no war now or

in the future and for everyone to protect and care

for the Earth.

Music Next Year’s activities In September we will have lost the current Year 8s, gained new pupils and seen others move from one year group up to the next. Looking ahead, you may like to note that the following musical activities will be available. Please also be aware that children are welcome to join school ensembles regardless of whether or not they take instrumental lessons in or out of school.

Senior Choir – by audition, for Years 6, 7 and 8.

Rehearsals: Monday hobby, Thursday morning before Chapel and Friday lunchtime. In September, I will be looking to recruit some new members for the Senior Choir and, as well as the annual Carol Service, there will be some exciting concert opportunities.

Orchestra – for all pupils who play an orchestral instrument at a standard of roughly Grade 1 upwards.

Rehearsals: Tuesday hobby. One of the most enjoyable aspects to learning an instrument is being able to play together in a large group like an orchestra. Numbers are growing but there’s still plenty of room for players wanting to have fun. Lunchtime ensembles will continue as usual:

Brass Group directed by Mr Paul

Clarinet Group directed by Miss Rose

Guitar Group directed by Mr Brain

Percussion Group directed by Mr Parsons

Pyrland Choir directed by Miss Tustian – for all pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5.

Junior and Senior String Groups directed by Mrs Driscoll and Mrs Vale

We will also continue our happy association with Taunton Children’s Orchestra which rehearses in the Arts Centre on Wednesday evenings during term time. For further information on TCO, or on the orchestral course we are running at King’s Hall in August, please contact Mr Dayus-Jones. Mr Dayus-Jones is also investigating the possibility of running a Saturday activity making use of the Hestercombe Centre for Young Musicians, and would be grateful if interested parents could contact him to give an idea of potential demand.

Instruments available There are a number of school instruments currently lying unused in the department and it is worth bearing in mind that trial lessons are free and school instruments are available to borrow at no cost. We are particularly looking for more players of lower brass, woodwind (there are two bassoonists in school at the moment, and it would be wonderful to have some more clarinets and perhaps a couple of oboists to join them!) and string instruments (especially in the younger years). Two of the three school saxophones are also not yet being used and we have teachers for all of the above instruments.

Upcoming… Ranulf Mason (Y8) is taking part in the Somerset County Youth Orchestra concert (following their Scottish tour) on 19th July at 7.30pm in Taunton Methodist Church. I would heartily recommend attending, as I would too the Somerset Opera performances of Verdi’s Macbeth at King’s College on 15th,16th, 18th and 19th July. Dunster Show – as a matter of interest, might there be any musicians available who would like to come and play at the Dunster Show on 15th August?

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