27 May 2016 - King`s Hall School

King’s Hall School
Prep Newsletter
Edition 88
27th May 2016
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HEADlines
First thing this morning I was pond dipping in the lakes at the front of the school with Year 4 – great fun and another
reminder about the excitement of life viewed through younger eyes. Caddis fly larvae, water beetles, expanding
tadpoles and even little newts were amongst the many creatures discovered. There was one magnificently squirmy
wormy that certainly brought out some giggles.
I then moved on to the 8S presentations which concluded the children’s projects on someone or something that has
inspired them. The topics included, but were not limited to, the impact of mathematicians, philosophers and scientists
from Late Ancient Greece; how communications have developed; the change in female fashions over the centuries;
London; writers influenced by their World War experiences and the overlooked, unrecognised Nikola Tesla. All good
stuff and I, for one, learnt many new things.
The day has ended with Senior Sports day and the weather was kind allowing much running, jumping and throwing to
take place. With those competing for friendly bragging rights at the sharp end, as well as those setting new PBs or
doggedly working hard to earn house points, there was a lot of fun and good competition on display.
In contrast, whilst today has been full of some of the wonderful core activities of our school here, just a few days ago I
was in the Rolls Royce showroom on The Pearl in Doha, hosting an event to promote King’s College Doha whose opening
is rapidly approaching. The theme was ‘The Best of British’ and we were delighted to have representation from the
British Embassy. On top of that, British Airways, M&S and Molton Brown had got wind of the event and asked us if they
could be present, too: it was certainly a jolly evening with many parents and influencers who all valued our style of
education.
Just before we head into half term, we have said goodbye to Harriet Crocombe who has worked with the Office team
and on Reception for the last year. Harriet leaves us to work much closer to her home in Wellington and we both thank
her for all she has done and wish her well in the future. We will be welcoming Louise Reynolds after half term, who will
be on Reception in the mornings, working opposite Lorraine Baker who works afternoons.
So, here’s to a good rest ahead for everyone. Hopefully the illnesses around will disappear and for many it will be a
relief to have their exams behind them. For those taking Common Entrance after half-term, it is a time to recharge
whilst keeping on top of any last minute tweaks to their preparation. The second half of this term is one of those short
sprints with only four weeks but there is a great deal to look forward to as we ‘spring into summer’. We are off to the
Hay Festival for a couple of days and will be under canvas so fingers crossed for some more dry days. Have a good week
everyone.
Justin Chippendale
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Year 3 Camp in Big Wood
On Friday 21st May Year 3 could not contain their excitement any longer; it was the evening of Year 3 Big Wood
Camp! After school it was time to change into their casuals and begin the adventure. The children were taught
how to traverse a slack line and fly kites with skill. This involved team work and much laughter.
After a delicious supper, part two of the evening involved getting out onto the
River Tone in the capable hands of Channel Adventure who showed the children
how to paddle in an inflatable raft. The intrepid children conquered their nerves
with the help of some fun boat games; tug of war, bumper boats, races and
spinning the boat 360o really fast! They understood the term 'rafting up' and
enjoyed swapping places to board the other boat.
The evening's activities were rounded-off by a well-deserved hot chocolate and flap jack. Weary limbs flopped
into their sleeping bags for a night in the Big Woods listening to the hooting of owls and 'pitter patter' of rain
against the tents!
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Pupil Council Fund Raising
The Pupil Council is organising two fundraising activities for the Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital. A
representative visited the school and talked about the good work they do with the generous donations of the
community. The Friends of Musgrove loaned King’s Hall School their very own dragon mascot for a while and
therefore we have decided to hold dragon themed fundraising!
1. Dragon Art Competition for Pre-Prep and Prep Departments – each year group is invited to submit an
art entry and the suggested donation to enter is £2.00. The artwork can be a sketch, drawing, painting,
papier maché, sculpture or any way to make a dragon! There will be a prize per year group. Please do
start work on your art at home over the half term holiday. Entries are due in school on Monday 20th of
June which is the beginning of Arts Week!
2. Dress as a dragon for the day! Pupils in the Prep Department are invited to wear a dragon costume, or
dragon themed outfit on Tuesday 28th June. This is also the day of the Year 8 Charity Fundraising Fete,
for the Avon and Somerset Air Ambulance Service and we don’t want to compete with their chosen
charity. Therefore, we only ask for a suggested donation of £1.00 to come into school in dragon related
clothing for the Friends of Musgrove Park Hospital.
Thank you very much for your support of this worthwhile cause.
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Drama
Year 4 Outdoor Production
Thursday 23rd June
3 o’clock
Rose Garden
Year 4 will present two plays entitled
“Harry Rings, Lord of the Potters”
and
“Spellbound”
All of Year 4 have been working especially hard on their plays in class and during hobby times. Lines are being
learnt, actions and movement blocked and characters developed.
Hopefully the sun will shine in June for the two performances outside;
one for parents on Thursday and
one for the school on Friday afternoon at 1.30pm (plus any parents who can’t make the Thursday).
If you are attending the production for parents on Thursday 23rd June please contact the school office so that
we have an idea of numbers attending. Many thanks
A view from the Rose Garden
In English we have been reading the Butterfly Lion. We have
written some wonderful descriptive pieces of writing.
In Maths we are looking at Perimeter. Here we are pictured
standing outlining one of our shapes.
In Geography we are studying rocks and went on a fantastic trip to
Lulworth Cove. It was stunning. Although 4T were a bit depleted
due to illness!
On Tuesday we all took part in House Athletics (Mrs Thomas is
quietly smug as Bradfield are in the lead by 6 points!)
As a class we have put together a list of targets to achieve before the end of term –
something to aim for!
Reach for the stars!
Academic Life...
Religious Studies
Inspirational Pupils
I have enjoyed seeing how 8S have worked together, in their groups, to produce various projects about the
people and ideas that have inspired them. Science and faith; the Suffragette movement and women’s rights;
London; Confidence through fashion and the Influence of horses in our society are some of the diverse subjects
taken on!
Pupils seemed to really embrace working on their ideas through independent work and the grand finale enabled
them to present their work to an audience of parents and teachers! Well done 8S!!!
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Science
Year 3 Trip to Little Yarford Farmhouse
Mr and Mrs Bradley invited us to visit their amazing garden during their NGS open day. This fitted in perfectly
with our topic on Living. Mr and Mrs Bradley have over 300 trees and we chose one to study in more detail.
We measured its circumference to work out its age, took a photo of us standing next to it to work out its
height and took leaf and bark rubbings. We also had the opportunity to go pond dipping where we caught
water snails, tadpoles and sticklebacks amongst other things. One of the other highlights was newt and grass
snake spotting!
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Geography
This year’s annual trip to Lulworth Cove was a great success with the weather being very kind to us in what
was a wet and windy week. The children were very excited about visiting both the spectacular cove and the
natural arch of Durdle Door.
The coastal erosion geography topic will certainly stick in their minds for a long time to come.
French
Post exam puppet fun! We have had lots of fun making our own
puppets and writing our own funny scripts.
Year 7 with Mr Thomas
The Year 7s were scheduled to play inter tutor group rounders for their plus rewards time a couple of weeks
ago; the weather intervened so "kwik cricket" was played. Happily, each tutor group won one match each so
bragging rights were not acquired. The improved weather has meant that the Year Group have been taking
advantage of the wonderful space provided by the North Field; clearly some of the boys were a little
exasperated at missing out on their rounders and have been seen joining in with the girls at break times.
Other break time activities have included cricket in the nets, tag rugby, football and just "chilling in the fresh
air". Half term looms with perfect timing after the emphasis and turmoil of recent exams. Sleep appears to
be the first priority (hopefully that applies to the Thomas household, too) but there are one or two exciting
trips to London on the agenda; taking in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Premiership Rugby Final
- come on The Chiefs!
There has also been some time for some work - in Mr Thomas' Tutor Group the 3 leaders in the merit table
are Oliver Wrelton, Alex Cunningham and Florence Cole, keep up the good work.
This week in the Library....
Book Club news
Book Clubs are thriving at King’s Hall and all Prep pupils have the opportunity to take
part in this fun activity. A book for each age group is selected towards the end of
each term, participating pupils read it during the holidays and we get together near
the beginning of term to discuss our opinions about what we have read. This week
we received a lovely letter from Kim Slater, the author of Smart which Year 7 and 8
book clubbers read over Christmas. (Eagle-eyed readers will see that it gives a big
clue as to the book Year 7 and 8 Book Club will be reading over the summer holidays!)
Mrs Marcuccilli
May 2016
Dear King’s Hall Book Club Readers,
I wanted to drop you a line to say how delighted I was to read the school newsletter report from the Year 7 & 8
Book Club and discover that those of you who read ‘Smart’ really enjoyed it and had such perceptive comments
about the book.
I’m so pleased that you empathised with Kieran and recognised his very difficult circumstances at home. As
soon as I got this character’s voice in my head, (this is the way all my ideas start), I knew he saw the world in a
different way. I do hope Kieran gave you a little chuckle now and again with the unique way he looks at life
because I know some of the issues tackled in the book are quite hard to read at times.
Mrs Marcuccilli has just let me know that you will all be reading my second book, ‘A Seven-Letter Word’ over
the summer. I do hope you enjoy it and get to know Finlay, the main character, as well as you know and
understand Kieran.
If any of you have any questions about ‘Smart’ or would like to tell me what you thought of either of the books,
then please do drop me an email via my website: www.kimslater.com. I’d love to hear from you and will answer
every email personally.
Thank you all once again and happy reading!
Best wishes,
Kim Slater x
Out of the classroom...
Sailing in Weymouth
Over the past few weeks a group of pupils have been to visit the Andrew Simpson
Sailing Centre in Weymouth. They spent the day sailing Pico dinghies, and joining
in the annual cardboard boat race. King’s Hall entered three boats, the most
successful was skippered by Magnus Larsen who managed to get around the
course. The weather was kind to us and we look forward to visiting the centre
again on the 25th of June to spend the whole day on the sea in a number of
different boats.
The saving of a Swallow
A very special visitor to the DT room, by Eleanor Renville
On Thursday I found a swallow in the DT room. It was the
most beautiful bird and was navy blue with some brown
patches around the beak area. It was injured so Mrs Cole
and I took her to Mrs Baker, the Science technician. I have
named her Eleanor. Mrs Baker is taking her to the RSPCA
and I hope she will recover soon. Swallows spend the winter
in South Africa so she has travelled a very long way to arrive
at King’s Hall!
This term’s Deputy Head Boy, Oliver Mathew
We are now very close to half term and are looking forward to a break especially
for Years 5-7 as they have their exams this week, I wish them good luck and hope
they do well. There have been lots of matches with good results as well as the
Exmoor challenge, which went very well especially for one group who came 2nd!
8S have been preparing hard for our projects which we presented to parents on
Friday, some of us are in pairs and some are working as individuals. There is a big
variety from fashion to Astrophysics, some more educational than others. There is
the House Sports Day coming up and people are becoming very competitive.
8CE however are not so lucky as they will be revising hard (or should be) over the half term as they have their
exams straight after. Then all of Year 8 can look forward to Okehampton instead of worrying about exams.
Sport Action and News...
Athletics
Year 3 & 4 Sports Day
On a glorious Tuesday afternoon the boys and girls of Year 3 & 4 competed in the Junior Sports Day event.
Cricket and rounders balls were thrown, the long jump competition was closely fought and a large number of
races around the track exhilarated the on-looking spectators. The children thoroughly enjoyed the excitement
of it all and gave all they had for their respective houses. Well done to all who took part!
Cricket
1st XI against Dean Close (National 20/20 Cup)
King’s Hall, batting first, scored 139 from their 20 overs. Will Scott-Munden scored a skilful 58 runs whilst James
Rew was consistently strong with his 37 runs. Dean Close struggled with the bat, only managing to reach 91-8
from their 20 overs. Charlie Sharland finished with figures of 4-10 and Aman Rao with 2-5, both from their
allocated 4 overs. King’s Hall won by 48 runs and will go on to play Millfield next half term in the Quarter Finals.
2nd XI against Queen’s
Batting first on a lovely afternoon King’s got off to a good start, reaching 33-1 after 5 overs thanks to a good
partnership between Oliver Luxton and Joss Chippendale, when Joss was out Oliver Mathew came in and the
two “Ollies” continued to play shots getting the score past 50 in 8 overs. A middle order collapse was halted by
a fine 27 run partnership between George Glanvill and Harry Bishop. The later order batsmen managed to
scramble our score past the hundred, the innings ending on 101 all out from 21 overs.
Harry Bishop and Liam Walker opened the bowling and both gained early success, by the end of their 3 over
spell Queen’s had been reduced to 27-5. Fielding was of a high order throughout, adding to the pressure on
the incoming batsmen. Oliver Baines and George Glanvill continued to apply pressure with their bowling,
leaving the visitors 36-9 at the end of their spell. A final flourish from the tail was finished when Joss Chippendale
bowled the last batsman; Queen’s finishing on 54 all out.
4th XI against Queen’s
This was a thoroughly enjoyable game to be part of with two pleasant groups of boys playing some very
entertaining cricket. Queen's batted first and were limited well by some very accurate bowling by the King's Hall
players. Russell Yates, playing his first game of the season, began with a wicket maiden and was supported by
Nicholas Yeung who bowled two overs for 1 run. The fielding effort was exceptional with every part of the pitch
marshalled well by the captain Cameron Bennett. Queen's were limited to 98 runs from their twenty overs, a
target that the home side were confident they could reach. Jake McMillan opened the batting and anchored
the innings well, scoring an unbeaten 13 from sixteen overs. He enabled Oliver Chapman and Billy Turner to
blast quick runs in the middle of the innings, resembling what Chris 'Gale Force' Gayle will bring to the County
Ground over the next few weeks. Oliver scored 19 before losing his wicket, whilst Billy scored the winning runs
hitting 18 from eleven deliveries. A strong result for a team who now have a large number of boys competing
for a starting position. Well played Gentlemen!
Rounders
2nd IX against Taunton Prep U13B
After a very close first innings, King's Hall went on to bat really well in the second innings securing a great win.
A strong batting performance from Tresha Kumar who was awarded batter of the match. Kezia Ogle and Millie
Masters bowled well and Anna Flatt was a solid back stop and improved her throwing to 2nd base throughout
the match. Sophie Cannons fielded well with some excellent direct and strong throwing to 4th base. We
managed to give no half rounders for obstruction away in the second innings and fielders were more mobile.
3rd IX against Taunton Prep U12B
With our Captain opting to bat 2nd King's were in a good position from the outset. We contained our opposition's
batting score and went into our second innings having already sealed the win. Izzy Ambler had some solid
Backstop to 2nd post throws; Flo Cole showed safe hands at 2nd, stumping many players out; Abi Howells’
bowling was on top form; Amelie Ridley picked up over-throws in 1st deep and accurately threw them onwards
to 4th post. Reshma Rao gains special mention for her reactive field catch and her competitive words of wisdom
to the team!
Girls’ Football
Girls’ Football took a hold on King’s Hall School last weekend. Four teams played against each other and much
fun was had by all. A huge thank you to the girls and boys from King’s College who did a sterling job helping Mr
Heayns organise and officiate the event. We look forward to the next tournament and hope to continue the
success achieved this time.
Results round up ...
Cricket
Rounders
Wednesday 25th May
v Queen’s
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Colts A
Colts B
Colts C
Won
Won
Lost
Won
Drew
Lost
Lost
Thursday 26th May
v Taunton Prep
U9
Lost
Thursday 26th May
v Dean Close
National Cup
1st XI
Won
Wednesday 25th May
v Taunton Prep
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
U11
U10A
U10B
Won
Won
Won
Won
Lost
Drew
Lost
The Boarders’ World...
Boarders had an amazing weekend at laser tag in Taunton, where we had lots of fun shooting each other
with laser guns. We had 3 rounds and the teams were girls vs boys. Girls won 2-1!!!!
We had fantastic names such as Comet, Hyper, Commander, Eliminator and Ghost. The top scorers were
Justin, Millie, Terrence, with Harrie, Liam, Juanjo and Temi close behind.
Overall everyone had a good day however laser tag was clearly exhausting; Temi fell asleep as soon as
we got back!!!
Things you didn’t know about ...
Hiccup from ‘How to Train your Dragon’
Y8 pupil
Sherlock Holmes
Y8 pupil
How long have you been at King’s Hall School? Tell us more about your arrival.
I have only been at King’s Hall for a week because I
I have been here for three days investigating a case
have come to talk to all the pupils about the
called ‘the nightmare teacher of King’s Hall’ I need
importance of dragons – especially a Night Fury.
to find out who the teacher is because they have
control of everything in Great Britain, they are
causing much trouble to parliament.
If you were going to appear in a film, which character would you play and what would be the plot?
I would like to be in the film ‘The Longs Ships’ as one I would appear in the film Batman because I would
of the Vikings because Berk is a Viking village.
want to have the skill of flying and acrobatics, as
well as having my talent for solving crimes and
knowledge. I also really like his costume.
What do you like doing in your free time?
In my free time I like to fly Toothless all around the
In my free time I like to solve crimes and battle
Archipelago in search for new islands and new
against James Moriaty, the world’s most dangerous
species of dragon.
man, with my friend John Watson; we get into lots
of dangerous situations, I love winding him up and
making him look silly. I also love to argue with my
lonely brother Mycroft, he thinks he is so clever.
If you could try out any job for a day, what would you like to try?
I don’t need to try for a job because I already have
If I could try out for a job, it would be a barrister; I
one – I am a dragon trainer. But if I had to have a new would be this because I am very clever and I like to
one I would be an explorer because I love to try and
show people up. I also have a very strong opinion,
find new things.
so I would stick to a point.
If you could appear on ‘Mastermind’ what would be your chosen field of knowledge?
On Mastermind my chosen field of knowledge would
My chosen field would be code cracking, this is
be different dragon breeds because as a trainer I
because I have a very quick mind and I can work
know lots about them.
everything out in my head. I am especially good at
coding, because I have a very good memory and it
all stays in my head.
Which three people, dead or alive, would you have to a dinner party if you could? Why?
If I had to have 3 people to dinner I would have Stoick I would have Mrs Hudson, because she is my house
the Vast as he is the Chief of Berk. I would also have
keeper and she is just a down right legend. Also I
Gothi because she is very clever and can tell the
would invite my best friend John Watson, I always
future, she is also a mute. Lastly I would have Astrid
laugh with him like I don’t with anyone else. Also I
because she is my girlfriend and also very fierce.
would invite my good enemy Jim Moriarty, this is
because he is the only person alive that is as clever
as me and we could have some good arguments.
What is your favourite possession? Why?
My favourite possession is the Dragon Eye because it
My favourite possession is my violin, this is
is very precious and we do not want Viggo Grimborn
because I love playing it when I am upset or
to steal it.
stressed.
If you could, what single message would you send to an alien species?
I would send the message ‘Have you received this
I would find out if they had the same global society
message’ because I would want to know that first.
as us, or if it conflicts more, because if it did then
there would be more crimes to solve, but if it was
perfect it would be pretty boring for me.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
I would go exploring out of the Archipelago because I
If I could go anywhere in the world it would be to
have always wanted to know what else is out there.
Norway, this is because you can see the northern
lights, and they are so pretty.
What was the last photograph that you took?
The last picture I took was of a Snow Rathe tooth so I
The last photograph I took was of a woman and
could find the key to the dragon eye.
her son in London, this is because I needed it to
help solve a crime; she was one of my marker
points and I needed to know what happened to her
and when.
What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
I have always really wanted to go on the back of
I have always wanted to kill Jim Moriarty because I
a Scauldron whilst under water because that
have come very close and I have never had the
would be really cool.
chance, I once thought I had… but then it turned
out that he was still alive.
Would you rather travel back in time or into the future? Why?
I would rather travel to the future because then I
I would rather travel back in time so I could solve
would see how life will end up.
all of my unsolved crimes and change the bad
decisions I have made.
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