October 2011
Thursday 19th October Inspection PA Fireworks Half Term Activities Half Term Break Christmas Market Trip Swimming Gala Christmas Hampers Cookery Pink Day Birthdays Posted on the Website this week: Charities for the Year Prayer Meetings Caliche Visit 4JW Assembly Art Workshop House Katakanu Competition Y3 Malvern Trip Parents' Meeting Parents' Meeting PA Fireworks Saturday Clubs LAMDA Showcase Half Term Activities Sports Results Birthdays Year 3 and 4 Production Letter New Arrivals Dukes Barn 4JB Assembly Kindergarten Curriculum Evening Second Hand Uniform Sale Recent Achievements Quiz Night Homework Policy IQ Christmas Cards PA Fireworks Sport Experience Parking Sports Results Birthdays Homework Policy
We were pleased to welcome to the school four inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate this week for the initial visit of our inspection. This visit focused on the Early Years section of the school (Kindergarten and Reception) as well as looking at the regulatory requirements, which are such an important part of school operation. The team will be returning on the 16th to the 18th November. We will be given our report at the end of the second visit. We are pleased to say that the children gave the inspectors a warm welcome for the initial visit. We are grateful to all parents for their return of the questionnaires via the ISI website. The questionnaire remains open for a further three weeks and we invite any parents who have not submitted their questionnaires to do so over the half term period. We have had a terrific return of questionnaires from the children in Years 4 to 6 and thank them all for returning their forms.
Tickets for this year's PA Fireworks are now available from the school office. This will take place on Saturday 5th November on the bottom field. The evening begins at 6-00p.m. with the bonfire lit at 6-45p.m. The fireworks display begins at 7-15p.m. Refreshments will be available on the evening, along with a pig roast and hot dogs. Tickets cost £6 for adults and £4 for children. Children aged two and under are admitted free of charge.
Parents wishing their children to attend half term activities should complete the booking forms prior to the break. These are available in the office or from the website. We are offering a Football Camp on Monday 24th October to Wednesday 26th October with an Activity Camp running from Monday 24th October to Friday 28th October. Holiday Club childcare is also available during the week.
We will be closed for the half term from the end of school activities on Friday until our return on Thursday 3rd November. All activities and late clubs will run as normal on Friday and resume on the Thursday of our return.
We have been delighted with the interest in our trip to the German Christmas Market in Birmingham on Wednesday 23rd November. To date we have 64 bookings and we are now running two coaches. If you would like to take part in this trip please return any forms to the office as soon as possible to ensure your place. This promises to be a terrific evening and will be a super way to start the festive season.
Our Year 5 and 6 children will be involved in a swimming gala on Thursday 3rd November. The children will need their swimming kit at school for that day.
It does seem very early to be writing in the newsletter about Christmas but the festive season will soon be upon us and we are asking for your assistance in relation to the hampers that we would like to put together for a draw at the end of term. A flyer will be sent home prior to half term. We will be theming the hampers, as we did last year, and they will be on display from 21st November. We are requesting that all items for the hampers are with us by Monday 14th November.
We wondered whether any Mums or Dads, or Grandparents, might be interested in running a cookery activity at the school. This would run as part of our Skills Afternoon, from 2-25p.m. to 3-45p.m. Last year Mrs Tune ran this activity, with the children making flapjacks, scones, pasta dishes and salads, among other things. Alternatively, we could offer cookery as an after school activity. What we need is someone who is able to commit and who really enjoys cookery and working with children. If anyone is interested, please could they contact the school office.
We have an additional date to add to this term's calendar following the recent School Council Meeting. The children have voted Breast Cancer Awareness as the School Council charity for this year. They would like to hold a Pink Day on Friday 18th November. A number of things will take place on the day (a pink cake sale sounding very nice indeed!) and we are requesting that the children come into school dressed in something pink with a £1 donation being made by each child to the charity. Mr Turner has a terrific pink shirt that he plans to wear on the day!
We wish all children who will have birthdays over the half term a happy birthday. Those who will be celebrating are: Oliver Annable, Taylor Ready, Sophie Guest, Tabitha Driskel, Freddie Yorke-Brooks, Ava Crompton, Louisa de Vos, George Hale, Tom Hale, William Wrout, Heather Rodgers, Fynn Chumbley and Joseph Young.
Kindergarten and Reception Newsletter
Thursday 13th October
Pupil Achievements
Well done to Natasha Beattie, who was recently awarded a certificate in assembly, following her success in the Royal Academy of Dance exams, gaining a Grade 2 Ballet pass with Distinction and also to Naomi Marsden, who achieved first place in the breaststroke in Worcester County swimming gala, achieving a County Championship qualifying time.
Following a vote by the children, this year's chosen charities are: St. Richard's Hospice, The Blue Cross and the Air Ambulance service. The School Council will also take on Breast Cancer as their 'own' charity.
Mr Keyes hosts twice termly prayer meetings at the Head's House on College Green (Number 9). They are open to all within the Foundation and take place at 6-00p.m. The next meeting is on 14th November and all are welcome.
We will be hosting a visit from the musicians who form the musical group Caliche on Monday 17th October. They have brought their South American pipes and drums to the school on a number of occasions, most notably during our Arts Weeks, and they are always greatly enjoyed by the children. They will be working with children from Kindergarten, Reception, Years 1 and 2 during the day.
Parents with children in Mrs Wilson's class are invited to join us for morning assembly on Wednesday 19th October, when the children will be leading the assembly. Assemblies generally begin at 8-45a.m.
We will be welcoming a visiting artist, Charles Hazzard, to work with our Year 5 children on Tuesday 18th October. Our commitment to the Arts has been recognised by the award of the Arts Council's Arts Mark Gold and one of the areas commented upon most favourably by the judges was our work with visiting artists.
Our Prep (Junior) aged children will be taking part next week in a number of challenges as part of the House Katakanu Competition. On Monday 17th October this will involve our Year 5 and 6 children, while on Friday 21st October the Year 3 and 4 will be taking part. The competition will be during afternoon session.
There will be a meeting for parents of Year 3 children attending the Malvern Camp during the Spring term on Tuesday 18th October at 4-30p.m in P1.
Parents with children in all classes from Reception to Year 6 are invited to attend a Parents' Evening at the school on Thursday 20th October from 4-15p.m. A letter advising the details has already been sent home. On this occasion parents will be meeting with their child's class teacher and there is an appointments system in operation on this evening.
Tickets for this year's PA Fireworks are now available from the school office. This will take place on Saturday 5th November on the bottom field. The evening begins at 6-00p.m. with the bonfire lit at 6-45p.m. The fireworks display begins at 7-15p.m. Tickets cost £6 for adults and £4 for children. Children aged two and under are admitted free of charge.
The Saturday Clubs run by Sports Extra will be starting on Saturday 15th October. Mini Rugby/Tag Rugby will run from 9-30 – 10-30a.m and Multi Ball Skills will run from 10-30-11-30a.m. The cost of is £4 per session. Classes are open to Reception and Year 1. For more information contact Nicole on 07960045794 or book online at www.sports-xtra.comusing the reference: 3282101793049 (Mini Rugby) or 382111793051 (Multi Ball Skills).
There will be a LAMDA Showcase, led by the children attending Speech and Drama in Years 5 and 6, on Friday 21st October. This will be in The Cobb at 4-15p.m.
Parents wishing their children to attend half term activities should complete the booking forms that are available in the office or from the website. We are offering a Football Camp on Monday 24th October to Wednesday 26th October with an Activity Camp running from Monday 24th October to Friday 28th October. Holiday Club childcare is also available during the week.
Congratulations to the U8 boys who took part in a rugby tournament at RGS The Grange this week. U8A v Winterfold won 7-1, v St Alban's won 7-2 and v The Grange lost 4-3. U8B v Winterfold won 8-2, v The Grange 3 won 5-3 and v The Grange 2 lost 4-2. In matches v Bluecoat, U9A won 20-15 and U9B lost 40-20. U11 v WGJS won 47-28. Well done to all boys who have taken part this week.
We wish all children who will have birthdays over the next week a happy birthday. Those who will be celebrating are: Joshua Adam and Oscar Blundell.
Posted on the Website this week:
Year 3 Malvern Trip Letter
Year 3 to 6 Swimming Stamina Letter
Reception Newsletter
All Parents Inspection Letter
Year 4 to 6 Parents Inspection Questionnaire Letter
Thursday 6th October
King's Exam Results
Parents will be interested to read of the terrific results achieved by the students at King's School this Summer. We were delighted to see 51% of the students achieve A Level grades at A*/A with 78% of grades being in the A*/B range. King's has now been the top performing school in Worcester at A level (based on the % of top grades) for 6 years in a row. At GCSE 72% of the grades awarded were at A*/A (including 42% at A*). King's was placed in the top 100 of independent schools in the country in terms of GCSE performance and we have been the best performing school in the county in terms of the proportion of A* and A grades at GCSE for four years in a row. Of course, it goes without saying that, pleasing though these grades may be, the school is about so much more than exam success alone. The breadth of offering is key to ensuring our pupils leave fulfilled, confident and ready to face the considerable challenges of the world beyond school. King's aims to give our young men and women the aptitudes and attitudes to contribute fully to our society and also to take advantage of the opportunities that life presents.
We were delighted last week to hear from Kathy Turk, who gave birth on 28th September to twin boys, Alexander and John, both around 6 pounds. The boys and their mother are well.
Our Year 5 children will be departing on Tuesday 11th October for their outdoor pursuits week at Dukes Barn, returning on Friday 14th October. This is always a brilliant visit, with the centre being on the edge of the Chatsworth Estate, in beautiful countryside.
Parents with children in Mrs Bayliss's class are invited to join us for morning assembly on Wednesday 12th October, when the children will be leading the assembly. Assemblies generally begin at 8-45a.m.
Parents who have children in our Kindergarten are invited to join us on Thursday 13th October at 7-00p.m. for a Kindergarten Curriculum Evening. Mrs Willis has already sent home information regarding this evening.
There will be a Second Hand Uniform Sale in the Music Room on Friday 14th October at 3-00p.m. Clothes for the sale can be left in the office next week.
We have recently made presentations in assembly to Isabella Woodcock, for her super performance in a swimming gala in the 50 metre breaststroke and to James Gage for his terrific achievements in horse riding. We have heard also that Louis Hira, Tom Bulpitt and Joshua Lawson have been awarded their blue belts for karate. Well done to all of the children for these achievements.
Tickets for the Quiz Night on Saturday 15th October are now available. Orders should be left in the school office. This is always a great evening, with teams fighting for the honour of being Hawford quiz champions and a fish or chicken supper being served midway through the evening.
Parents can find the updated Homework Policy on the website along with the consultation form for parents to comment if they wish to do so.
The deadline for these to be returned has been extended to Monday 10th October. Please return any completed orders as soon as possible. All order forms are available from Mrs Griffin.
Tickets for this year's PA Fireworks are now available from the school office. This will take place on Saturday 5th November on the bottom field. Full details, including times, will follow in a flyer shortly.
Sports Extra will be running a Sport Experience course during half term on the 31st October and 1st November here at school. The course is aimed for any child keen on sport aged between 5 and 12 years. Booking forms are available from the office.
We have noticed that a number of parents have taken to parking around the back of the main house in the staff parking areas. This area is not for parental parking as it is unsuitable for that purpose and is used by lorries supplying the kitchen. Please would all parents use either the main car park or Lock Lane.
In rugby matches this week v WGJS U8 A won 75-20 and the U8 B lost 70-50. Matches v St Alban's were all played extremely well. U11 A won 45-7, U11 B drew 24-24, U10 A won 43-7 and U10 B lost 50-25. All girls played very well in hockey matches this week v Bluecoat School. U9 A won 8-0, U9 B won 3-1, U10 A won 4-1, U9 B won 6-0, U11 A won 2-1 and the U11 B won 6-4.
We wish all children who will have birthdays over the next week a happy birthday. Those who will be celebrating are: Harvey Conyers, Samuel Taylor-Edwards, Christiaan Workman, Rayne Bulpitt, Thomas Harries, Libby Thurston, Eliza Pritchard, Poppy Graham, Archie Thurston, Cameron Jones and Ruby Neil.
Posted on the Website this week:
Homework Policy Consultation Form
Kindergarten and Reception Newsletters